France vs Britain - the food wars!

Ok, a few of my last posts have extolled the virtues of France and the French way of life, above all, the food. So lets have a recap.

Both countries have access to good quality, local ingredients, but I think Britain tops the list in terms of quality of meat in particular, especially the animal welfare. The food at Stansted really was of the highest quality.

You can have 'slops' in France as well as England, as proved by the demi-pension served during the recent holiday - the food was good and fairly tasty but looked a mess. Whereas in England the food would have been well-portioned in most hotels, here it was slopped onto the plates, almost overspilling at the edges! Like I said though, the taste was generally good, and my boyfriend certainly didn't complain about the portion sizes!

If I based my judgement on just one dish, Tartiflette would win hands down every time, but I guess I can't as I've had some amazing food in England too - and probably not as likely to lead to a heart attack in the coming years! (Although I do admire the French's resolve not to care about these things and their attitude to life - simply enjoy it, and if you can't do that, argue about it!)

Pizza - in France you are far more likely to get home-made dough, odd shaped pizzas, feu-de-bois cooking and a crispy thin base. They are, however, just as likely to leave it in the oven a little too long - see my recent post!

So, to conclude? Well, I don't think I can pick a winner: Both France and England have a lot going for them in terms of culinary skill, ingredient access and food knowledge at the moment. I would offer the advice to ask other people who have visited restaurants for their recommendations before you visit a new place if you don't want to just 'fill-up'.

You are just as likely to have 'bad food' in France as you are in England, and it simply depends on who's in the kitchen at the time of your visit!