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Eating my way across England

lindaglamour
Aug 31, 2016
2 min read

The English, lets be honest, do not have a reputation for great cuisine, however I do think this is a little unfair.

Local produce here is wonderful - raspberries and strawberries grown in Kent and Surrey, Aylesbury duck, Scottish lamb and beef and a range of fresh seafood including haddock, langoustines and mackerel. Bramley apples and devon custard, Yum!

One delicious UK product is cheese and in driving through the village of Stilton one couldn't go past a Ploughman's Lunch featuring the cheese in the very pub and location which produces the product! The Bell Inn at Stilton.

The English do a great breakfast and with the tradition of the B&B, breakfasts are cooked and wholesome. Given they come with the cost of the room I decided as a seasoned traveller to enjoy the big brekkie and save my money and eat light for the rest of the day. A traditional English cooked breakfast includes eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes, baked beans and bread. This one is from The Kings Arms at Hampton Court.

For something a little on the lighter side, the breakfast at The William Cecil in Stamford included lots of fresh fruit and cereals and the cooked breakfast was a selection of Eggs Benedict, Waffles and other delicious goodies. The picture at the beginning of this blog is The William Cecil.

A traditional English feed is Fish and Chips, with mushy peas. Not to everyone's taste but I love it! Someone tried to explain to me that the peas were there just for colour but whatever the reason, I think they are delicious! A great plate was had in York at a local eatery in Fossgate.

No one can go past a great burger - this one with Angus beef, onion rings, cheese, slaw and fries - unfortunately what the English don't do well is make wine, so its a glass of Italian Pinot Grigio for me! This burger is The Station Inn at Melrose, Scotland.

Jamie Oliver is the leading celebrity chef in the UK now and so it was to his restaurant Jamie's Italian that I sought out in Harrogate for a heart warming meal. It has been by far the most delicious thing I've eaten. Two courses for 14.95 so a pasta ragu followed by a chocolate brownie with salted caramel ice cream. OMG delicious.

The benefit of having a cottage to one's self is being able to fill the pantry and fridge with whatever one wants - and a treat is walking the aisles of Waitrose, the up market supermarket here in the UK. My pantry now has my favourite Duchy of Cornwall lemon biscuits, granola and oats with fridge stocked with Duchy cheese, chutney and local ham, the wine from the Loire (!).

Not a Devonshire tea or a Cornish clotted cream tea however in the town of Jedburgh in the Scottish borders they do a great fruit scone with jam and very thick cream....gave me enough energy to tour the house of Mary Queen of Scots and Jedburgh Abbey. But alas, I am still yet to find a really good coffee.