6 Traditional British Meals you have to try during your stay with Resolute Experiences
Can you even say you’ve visited the UK if you haven’t tried these dishes?!
Fish and Chips
The first British meal we need to visit, which perhaps could be considered as the most popular, is good old traditional Fish and Chips. At Resolute we think it is imperative to your travels to take a little time out to try and Fish and Chips, else can you even say you’ve visited the UK?
Both London and Lancashire claim to have invented this famous meal - chips being a cheap, staple food of the industrial North whilst fried fish was introduced in London’s East End. In 1839, Charles Dickens referred to a ‘fried fish warehouse’ in ‘Oliver Twist’ his novel. Soon was decided by the population that putting fried fish and chips together was a very tasty combination and so was born our traditional dish!
When you visit Plymouth within the Pilgrimage Package, we have set out the time to take in that famous tradition of Fish and Chips after standing on the very steps where the Pilgrims finally boarded their ship as they made their way back to America.
They are pretty much liked and even loved by everyone and we say if you don’t like them, you’re just doing it all wrong!
Let us show you how do this British tradition properly, you won’t be let down!
Afternoon Tea
There are Afternoon Teas, and then there are Afternoon Teas fit for a Queen.
To experience the best of afternoon tea tradition, we indulge you with a trip to one of London’s finest hotels. Queen Victoria loved to take hers at Brown’s, in the irresistibly elegant drawing room. With original wood panelling, striking contemporary artworks and a genteel ambience, the London tea room is a place where quintessentially English sensibilities and modern sophistication harmonise.
At Brown’s Hotel you will be able to follow in the footsteps of royalty and indulge in neatly crimped sandwiches, the daintiest of pastries and pillowy scones stuffed with fresh cream and jam.
The concept of Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o’clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o’clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.
This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880’s upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o’clock.
We can’t wait to share this quintessential English custom with you.
Sunday Lunch
The British love of beef, particularly for lunch on a Sunday, is a part of the national identity.
Roast beef is eaten so often that even the French started calling Englishmen "rosbifs" in the 18th century. The Sunday roast is as much a tradition today as it was a few hundred years ago. It has even spread from the family dinner table to pubs and other days of the week. The Sunday roast came to prominence during the reign of King Henry VII in 1485. The British used to consume a considerable amount of meat. The Yeomen of the Guard—the royal bodyguards—have affectionately been known as "Beefeaters" since the 15th century because of their love of eating roast beef.
A traditional Sunday Lunch includes meat such as Beef, Lamb, Pork or Turkey or a selection of a few. Accompanied by roasted potatoes, a selection of vegetables, cabbage, spring greens, cauliflower cheese and lots of gravy.
We can’t wait to share this traditional meal with you after we have visited the earliest ancestral home of George Washington, Washington Old Hall within the American Legacy package. Afterwards we will enjoy a Sunday Lunch overlooking the iconic city of Newcastle, whilst learning about the area’s links to some of America’s famous figures.
Steak and Kidney Pie
Meat pies have always been a British favourite.
The first recipe for a steak and kidney pie was written in 1694 which contained lamb, spices and currants. It wasn’t unti 1851, a recipe for steak and kidney pie as we know is published which contained steak and kidney, nothing else.
The first mention of the modern dish is less than appetising. Charles Dickens’ first novel, The Pickwick Papers, features a ‘pieman’ who boasts of keeping his prices low by making pies from kittens. Steak and kidney pie continues to be an unlikely literary icon to this day, popping up numerous times in J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series, both at Hogwarts, where it seems to be particularly popular with Ron Weasley, and on the menu at the Leaky Cauldron pub.
Another fun fact about this meal is that in 1939 Winston Churchill is recorded by a journalist as enjoying steak and kidney pie at home at Chartwell so much he ‘shovelled’ it in.
There will be many opportunities to experience eating this dish, perhaps in a slightly more polite manner than Winston Churchill himself, throughout your stay with us. An example being the Mayflower Pub in London.
Beef Wellington
Beef Wellington is a dish consisting of a whole filet of beef that is coated with a pâté and duxelles, a combination of minced mushrooms, herbs, and shallots. The concoction is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked in the oven.
Traditionally, slices of beef Wellington are accompanied by madeira sauce. It is believed that the dish was named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. However, the dish was not known in Wellesley's lifetime, so the origins of beef Wellington still remain murky, and some believe that the dish got its name because it resembles a Wellington boot.
This delicacy soared in popularity during the 1960s, when it became hugely popular in North America, even more so than in the United Kingdom, due to its luxurious, expensive ingredients and precise preparation methods.
A place in which you could discover the definitive pie bible from an Executive Chef, Calum Franklin is at the Holburn Dining Room at the Rosewood London, which is included in our tours. In his debut cookbook, Chef Calum presents a treasure trove of recipes for some of his favourite ever pastry dishes. In this collection of recipes, discover the secrets to 80 delicious and achievable pies and sides, both sweet and savoury, including hot pork pies, cheesy dauphinoise and of course, the ultimate beef Wellington.
Full English Breakfast
The final meal which is a staple to have while visiting the UK, is a traditional full English breakfast. It is a centuries old British breakfast tradition, one that can trace its roots back to the early 1300's. In one form or another, the tradition of a uniquely English breakfast is one that has been proudly sustained over the centuries by different generations of British society.
Today the English breakfast is more popular than ever.
A full English breakfast typically consists of sausages, bacon, eggs, tomato, baked beans and toast. Other ingredients include mushrooms, black pudding and, on rare occasions, hash browns. This quintessentially English plate can be found in just about every café, hotel and restaurant up and down the country.
There’s nothing better than a full English breakfast and a cup of tea on a morning while you read the local paper, and there will again be lots of opportunities to do so during your stay with us.
Try it for yourself, if you don’t believe us.
Sources Used:
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Fish-Chips/
https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/browns-hotel/restaurants-and-bars/the-drawing-room/about/
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Afternoon-Tea/
https://www.thespruceeats.com/history-of-the-british-sunday-roast-4149600
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2020/12/story-steak-kidney-pie
https://www.mayflowerpub.co.uk/mains
https://englishbreakfastsociety.com/full-english-breakfast.html
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/where-did-the-full-english-breakfast-originate/
https://www.tasteatlas.com/beef-wellington
https://holborndiningroom.com