Around the world in 80 dishes

Sharing a little less enthusiasm than Passepertout did for visiting his homeland, we set sail from England to France. French food has a reputation for being snobby, the country still holds the record for the most Michelin starred restaurants in the world (632, if you’re wondering). After all, in French cuisine, you’re not only tasting the food, you’re judging the technique of the chefs, the freshness of the ingredients and the atmosphere in which the food is consumed. The French Revolution was a revolution for French cooking too, cooks for the aristocracy were out of jobs so they opened restaurants (which is different to the inns and cafes which existed before the revolution). The term “restaurant” comes from the “restorative” soups sold in the establishments. Toulouse-Lautrec - The person Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is a name you may have heard, along other Post-...

First stop. Bags packed and gas securely turned off, we are off on our adventure. But how can we not have one last meal at home for the road?? One of the key British institutions, the pub is a social hub for communities throughout the country. The pub has been part of the British culture since 43AD (which is over 17 centuries before tea and coffee), and of course, like many other things, the history of the pub starts with The Romans. The British ales became the local delicacy and even the Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings loved it. Around the time for Henry VII is when alehouses, taverns, and inns became public houses we know and love today. At that point, the ratio of pub to people in England was 1:200 (not bad, huh?), today it’s about 1:1000. Not only do we have to thank Henry VII’s reign for the number of pubs, but the Sunday roast, a quintessential English dish, is believed to have begun...