Chocolate and chips

Some countries are famous world-wide for their delicious food: Italy, Mexico or China, to name a few. British cuisine is, however, less popular. And it’s easy to see why. Compared to meltingly rich, crispy pizza, spicy nachos or drool-worthy chicken chow-mein, the traditional British dinner of ‘meat and two veg’ seems plain, boring and stodgy. In fact, stodgy – meaning heavy or rich - is perhaps the perfect word to describe stereotypical British fare. Consider the Full English breakfast, for example. Sausage, bacon, egg, mushrooms, tomatoes, baked beans and toast – all on one plate, and washed down with a cup of milky tea. Or the quintessential Sunday lunch: roast beef, roast potatoes and lots of gravy, it’s like having a Christmas dinner once a week. Although these dishes might not seem very exciting, that’s exactly why we love them: they are perfect comfort food. Simple but delicious, British food does have a few unique highlights. For those of you with a sweet tooth, sample a scone. Covered with strawberry jam and clotted cream, scones are a tasty afternoon-tea time treat. If, on the other hand, you prefer savoury food, try a Cornish pasty. The Cornish pasty is a pastry filled with meat, potato and cheese, folded up so you can eat it with your hands. My home city, Birmingham, is particularly famous for three things: curry, Cadbury’s chocolate and chips. Eating them all together would be a pretty unpleasant, and very unhealthy, experience! Individually, however, they are delicious. Since I moved to Germany, I have been missing Cadbury’s chocolate most of all. Milka is great, but it’s just not the same. So, if you ever get the chance to go to Birmingham, take a tour around the Cadbury factory, which opened in 1824 in Birmingham, and try it for yourself!