Historian laments forgotten finery of British food

By Eleanor McCausland

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Rationing, the Industrial Revolution and a drastic reduction in household servants have nearly killed off Britain's once-rich tradition of food.

At least that's the argument put forth by British food historian Ivan Day when presented with the stereotype of his country as a nation filled with fast food-loving Philistines.

Day, a food history author and academic who also advises chefs such as the Michelin-starred Heston Blumenthal, says British food once rivaled its European cousins in Italy and France before necessity forced dining habits to decline.

"We are very culturally confused in culinary matters. We have lost touch with our own terroir," Day said.

He said the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying urbanization of the population in the 19th century were two factors which began a deterioration in British eating traditions that were then all but eradicated by two world wars.

"Rationing during World War Two forced people to live off basic foodstuffs," he said.

By the end of the war, Britons were left with a gastronomic void that has been filled with food from other cultures, including the fast food blamed for rising rates of obesity.

"When ethnic groups moved into England from places like Bangladesh, they saw a lack of food outlets and thought, 'let's fill the gap'," Day said. "If you visit a market town today there are lots of Thai, Indian, Chinese, Italian restaurants, but few English restaurants."

Day said that the fortunes of war and industry divorced Britons from a part of their own culture, which once reveled in the cooking and presentation of fine food. The Victorians were the last Britons conscious of food in that way.

"There was a hugely sophisticated food culture, with the working class involved in the preparation of food," he said. "They would present their masters with amazing dinners."

At the same time as the landed gentry began to diminish and servants became a luxury that few could afford, the industrial revolution also lured agricultural workers from the land.

"Rural culture changed quickly, and the changes in food were dramatic," Day said. "People were fed processed food as part of an industrial revolution machine."

Today's newspapers warn of an impending obesity crisis. But it was as early as two centuries ago that junk food began to creep into the British diet, Day said.

"They were fed things like Bird's custard, which is just adding liquid to powder. We lost our sensibility for food."

For the last 45 years Day has studied the preparation and consumption of food throughout history, covering everything from the aphrodisiac cordial waters of the 18th century to the gravity-defying jellies of the Victorians.