Eating & Drinking An introduction to British foods and beverages

Mealtimes (traditional) In many European countries people have a long break at midday and all family members return home to eat together. This is not common in Britain because it is often a long way from the place of work or school to the home. British people usually have a big breakfast before they go to work and the midday meal is not spent with family members but with workmates or schoolmates.

Mealtimes (traditional) Lunch is normally eaten between 12:30 pm and 1:30pm. Most people finish work at 5:30pm. It often takes an hour or so to get home and people tend to eat their evening meal or "dinner" between 6:30pm and 8pm.

Mealtimes (traditional) On Sundays people don't go to work so they usually eat with their family. Sunday lunch is usually the best meal of the week and many of the meals which are considered typically British are eaten for Sunday lunch.

Mealtimes (traditional) E.g. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Roast beef Yorkshire Pudding Roast potato Broccoli

Dinner or Tea? Although everyone in Britain understands that breakfast is the first meal of the day, there is disagreement about the words for other meals such as "dinner, lunch, tea, high tea, elevenses, brunch, supper In this lecture Lunch is the midday meal and Dinner is the evening meal.

Fried Breakfast Many people like to have a fried breakfast which can consist of fried bacon and eggs with fried bread, baked beans and possibly fried tomatoes or black pudding.

Fried Breakfast

Breakfast - Baked Beans on Toast

Breakfast - Toast & Marmalade Some people prefer to just eat toast and marmalade with tea or coffee

Breakfast - Cereal Cereals are also very popular. The most common are cornflakes. They are made with different grains such as corn, wheat, oats etc.

Breakfast - Porridge In Scotland many people eat "porridge" or boiled oats. Porridge is very heavy but it will keep you warm in winter.

Lunch Some factories and schools have canteens where you can eat

Packed Lunch A packed lunch is the most common thing to eat. A packed lunch normally consist of some sandwiches, a packet of crisps, an apple and a can of something to drink, for example, coca-cola.

Dinner - Traditional The most typical thing to eat for dinner is "meat and two veg". This consists of a piece of meat accompanied by two different boiled vegetables. This is covered with "gravy" which is a sauce made with the juice that was obtained when the meat was cooked. One of the vegetables is almost always potatoes. The British eat a lot of potatoes

Dinner Today most British people eat meals from many different countries e.g. spaghetti or curry. In fact you could even say that the British don't eat much British food.

Fish and Chips The traditional national food of England. It became popular in the 1860's when railways began to bring fresh fish straight from the east coast to the cities over night. The fish (cod, haddock, huss, plaice) is deep fried in flour batter and is eaten with chips. Traditionally, the fish and chips are covered with salt and malt vinegar and, using your fingers, eaten straight out of the newspaper which they were wrapped in.

Fish and Chips

Shepherds Pie

Bangers & Mash

Turkey & Bacon

Ploughmans Lunch

Desserts - Trifle

Apple Crumble & Custard

Eating Etiquette (Table manners) The British generally pay a lot of attention to good table manners. Even young children are expected to eat properly with knife and fork (cutlery). Most food is eaten with cutlery. Foods not eaten with a knife, fork or spoon include sandwiches, crisps, corn on the cob, and fruit.

Things you should do: If you are a guest, it is polite to wait until your host(ess) starts eating or indicates you should do so. Always chew and swallow all the food in your mouth before taking more or taking a drink. You may eat chicken and pizza with your fingers if you are at a barbecue, finger buffet or very informal setting. Always say thank you when served something. When eating bread rolls, break off a piece of bread before buttering. When eating soup, tip the bowl away from you and scoop the soup up with your spoon. When you have finished eating, and to let others know that you have, place your knife and fork together, with the prongs on the fork facing upwards, on your plate. In a restaurant, it is normal to pay for your food by putting your money on the plate the bill comes on.

Things you should not do: It is impolite to start eating before everyone has been served. Never chew with your mouth open. It is impolite to have your elbows on the table while you are eating. Don't reach over someone's plate for something, ask for the item to be passed. Never talk with food in your mouth. It is impolite to put too much food in your mouth. Never use your fingers to push food onto your spoon or fork. It is impolite to slurp your food or eat noisily. Never blow your nose on a napkin (serviette). Never take food from your neighbours plate. Never pick food out of your teeth with your fingernails.

Beer Traditional types of beer include: Bitter Mild Stout Porter India pale ale Newcastle Brown Ale

Public Houses (Pubs) There are approximately 60,000 public houses in the United Kingdom (UK). In many places, especially in villages, a pub can be the focal point of the community. Pubs are social places for the sale and consumption of mainly alcoholic beverages, and most public houses offer a wide range of beers, wines, spirits and alcopops. The owner or manager (licensee) of a public house is known as the publican, and may be referred to as "guv" (short for guv'nor, or governor) in some parts of the country. Each pub generally has a crowd of regulars, people who drink there regularly. The pub people visit most often is called their local. In many cases, this will be the pub nearest to their home, but some people choose their local for other reasons: proximity to work, a traditional venue for their friends, the availability of real ale, or maybe just a pool table. Colloquialisms for the public house include boozer, the local, watering hole and rub-a-dub-dub.

Pub Etiquette There is no waiter service in a British pub. You have to go to the bar to buy your drinks and carry them back to your table. It is customary for one or two people, not the whole group, to go up to the bar to buy drinks. To get served, you must attract the attention of the bar staff without making any noise or resorting to the vulgarity of too-obvious gesticulation. This is much easier than it sounds. If you wish to pay for your drinks individually, then order individually. If you order as a group, the bar staff will total the cost and expect a single payment. In most British pubs, you pay for your drinks in cash, immediately when you order them. Pubs often have a range of about 20 different beers behind the bar, many of them on draught (on tap), some in bottles and a few in cans. A pint of beer is litres. A 'half' means a half-pint. When ordering you just say "Half a bitter, please" or "Half a lager, please." It is not customary to tip the publican or bar staff. Instead, if you really want to, the common practice is to buy them a drink. This is a genuinely personal and friendly gesture.

Pub Etiquette The term "bar" can mean either the actual counter at which drinks are served, or any room in the pub which contains one of these counters. You may come across pubs with rooms marked Public Bar, Lounge Bar or Saloon Bar. There is no single, correct way to order a pub meal or snack. Some pubs take meal orders at the bar, others have separate food counters. However, drinks must almost always be purchased at the bar. Round-buying is the reciprocal exchange of drinks. To the natives, round-buying is sacred. Not "buying your round" is more than just a breach of pub etiquette - it's heresy. Don't ask for an expensive drink like champagne if the person buying it is drinking cost- conscious halves of beer. Unless there are signs specifically stating that children are welcome, always ask at the bar if children (under 14) are allowed in the pub. Pubs change according to the time of day. The quiet, pretty town-centre 'tourist' pub you discovered at lunchtime may become a vibrant, crowded young people's pub at night. Generally, pubs are not allowed to open until 11am (noon on Sundays). They cannot serve drinks after 11pm (10.30pm on Sundays) in England and Wales although you are allowed 20 minutes to finish any drinks already purchased. Toilets in pubs are for the use of customers, not the general public. The pub, to many natives, is a second home - and some probably spend more time there than they do in their own homes. Pub talk is the most popular activity in all pubs. There are few restrictions on what you can talk about - pub etiquette is concerned with the form of your conversation, not the content. Pub regulars will often start an argument about anything, just for the fun of it. Arguments follow a strict code of etiquette based on the First Commandment of pub law - Thou shalt not take things too seriously.

Pubs The most common pub names in Britain are: (1) The Crown – represents the king or queen. Many pubs are named after individual kings and queens (see examples below). (2) The Red Lion – the pub name became popular after James the First ordered a red lion to be displayed outside all public places. (3) Royal Oak – the king Charles the Second escaped the Roundheads (at the time of the English Civil War) by hiding in the branches of an oak tree. (4) Swan – a heraldic symbol, used in the "coat of arms" of powerful families. (5) White Hart – the white hart (rabbit) was the heraldic symbol of the king Richard the Second