Begged, stolen and borrowed: the story of ‘British’ flavours For centuries the British diet was directed by invading Europeans The Romans introduced asparagus, cucumber, peas, pheasant and viniculture, embraced seafood and built the extensive road network that moved food around the country The Saxons’ farming expertise served up wild game and fertile land on which to grow a variety of foods – they were particularly good at herbs The art of drying and preserving fish was handed down from the Vikings and Danes, and smoked fish and shellfish still taste best in the old Norse heartland of the North East Having colonised Sicily shortly before appropriating England, the Normans brought spices and recipes from southern Italy and Africa Crusaders had their first taste of oranges and lemons in the same era, and cinnamon, cloves and ginger, considered suggestive of wealth, appeared in a range of savoury and sweet dishes When Britain itself turned colonial overlord, the flavours of foreign lands were assimilated once more, brought back by explorers and traders Coffee, cocoa, potatoes and tea poured in Dishes like kedgeree (rice, lentils, onions and egg) and mulligatawny (spicy meat or chicken soup) found an appreciative British audience in the days of the Raj, before complete cuisines from the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and the Caribbean were absorbed into the culture of British food in the 20th century Ethnic food and ingredients are now readily available in shops, and thousands of international restaurants reflect the diverse British palate We’re going to need a bigger oven… Elizabeth David’s revolutionary 1950s tome A Book of Mediterranean Food included guidance on stuffing a whole sheep “C H I C K EN TI K K A M A S A LA I S N O W B R I TA I N ’ S TR U E N ATI O N A L D I S H , N O T O N LY B EC A U S E I T I S TH E M O S T PO PU LA R , B U T B EC A U S E I T I S A PER FEC T I LLU S TR ATI O N O F TH E WAY B R I TA I N ABSORBS AND A D A PTS EX TER N A L I N FLU EN C ES.” Or so said Robin Cook during his tenure as Foreign Secretary 291 Identity: the foundations of British culture Literature and philosophy Art, architecture and design Performing arts Cinema, photography and fashion Media and communications Food and drink Living culture: the state of modern Britain