British cuisine

British cuisine
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British cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom, including the regional cuisines of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. British cuisine has its roots in the cooking traditions of the indigenous Celts, however it has been significantly influenced and shaped by subsequent waves of conquest, notably that of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and the Normans; waves of migration, notably immigrants from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, China, Italy, South Africa, and Eastern Europe, primarily Poland; and exposure to increasingly globalised trade and connections to the Anglosphere, particularly the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Traditional British cuisine has been characterised as coarse, hearty dishes relying on high quality seasonal local ingredients, paired with simple sauces to accentuate their flavour.^[1] Highlights and staples of British cuisine include the roast dinner, the full breakfast, Shepherd's pie, Toad in the hole, and fish and chips; a highly diverse variety of both savoury and sweet pies, cakes, tarts, and pastries; foods influenced by immigrant populations such as curry and spaghetti bolognese; traditional desserts such as trifle, scones, apple pie, sticky toffee pudding, and Victoria sponge cake; and a large variety of cheese, beer, ale, and stout, cider, and to a lesser extent, sparkling wine.

Modern British cuisine has tended towards a stronger focus on fast food, processed foods, takeaways, and fried food. However, in the larger cities with multicultural populations, a vibrant culinary scene exists influenced by global cuisine. The modern phenomenon of television celebrity chefs began in the United Kingdom with Philip Harben. Since then, the celebrity chef scene has produced an array of well-known British chefs who have wielded considerable influence on modern British and global cuisine, such as Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal, Rick Stein, Nigella Lawson, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Fanny Cradock.