2. Talk about eating out in Great Britain and Belarus

There’s no need to say, that modern life presents us with more and more changes than ever before. We change everything rapidly: our jobs and houses, our friends and even our spouses. And all these changes have certainly influenced our eating habits greatly. Gone those days when our grandmothers had to spend hours in a steamy kitchen among frying pans and saucepans cooking breakfast, dinner and supper (as soon as one meal was over the preparation of the next one had to be started). Fortunately, nowadays everything is much easier: there’s a great many of various cafes, coffee and snack bars, pizzerias and restaurants where one can have a meal at any time.

No matter what country you are from, I’m absolutely convinced that the place for eating out generally depends on the occasion. For example, if one is going to have a date or to organize some family party (a wedding, a birthday or an anniversary) they are sure to go to a family-run restaurant which is usually quite and very nicely furnished. As a matter of fact, such restaurants are often located in a beautiful, picturesque place and they’re obviously much more expensive than cafes or confectioneries. As for the menu, it is normally rather extensive and there’s also a wide range of beverages in the wine list. In my view, a family-run restaurant is the best place to spend a nice and romantic evening with a friend or a spouse. Besides, if one organizes a party in a restaurant they don’t have to bother what to put on the menu, how to decorate their tiny flat and then accommodate 20 guests there. Moreover, there’s no need to waste time on cooking, laying the table and washing mountains of dirty crockery afterwards. Instead you can simply enjoy the party.

On the other hand, if you are in a hurry, the most suitable place too have a meal is some kind of fast-food places. And everyone knows that the world leaders among them are McDonald’s and Burger palace. Actually, they are very alike: both of them have a limited menu--usually it includes a great variety of hamburgers, french fries, several types of ice-cream, milk-shakes and fizzy drinks, such as Coca-Cola or Fanta. As a rule fast-food places are very crowded, especially during lunch break, and sometimes you have to stand while eating. However, they give you an opportunity to have a quick snack as they situated in a convenient location. What is more, the service there is very fast, and in comparison with a family-run restaurant the prices are much lower.

As for me, I occasionally drop in to McDonald’s or a pizzeria, but on the whole I’m not used to going out. Actually, I prefer to cook and eat at home. That’s probably because when I was younger I liked to watch my grandma cooking and sometimes to help her. So, I picked up a lot of cooking tips from her and now, being a student, I don’t have any problems with preparing dishes.

3. English food and the qualities it is often criticized for

It is accepted that Britain and good food are the two things that can’t be associated. Moreover, it is really very difficult to find English food in England. In Greece you can eat Greek food, in France—French, in Italy—Italian, but in England in any High Street it is easier to find Indian or Chinese restaurants than English ones. Besides, it is not only in restaurant that foreign dishes are replacing traditional British food. Go to any supermarket and you will see that sales of pasta and pizza are booming there. Why has this happened? What is wrong with the English cooks that they prefer cooking lasagna to shepherd’s pie? Anyway, English food was not always disgusting and tasteless; it was not boiled to death or swimming in fat.

Actually, the British have always imported food from abroad and foreign trade has become the major influence on British cooking. English cuisine like English language absorbed ingredients from allover the world—chicken, rabbit, apples and tea. All of these and more were successfully incorporated into British dishes. Another important influence on English cooking is certainly weather. The good old British rain gives them rich soil and green grass, which means that the Englishmen are able to produce some of the finest varieties of meat, fruit and vegetables. And there’s no need to fancy sauces or complicated recipes to disguise their taste. For comparison, abroad poor soils mean more discovery, searching for food and invention. That is why it is wrong to claim that British food is terrible. On the contrary, English cuisine is wonderful, still it has a great minus—it is very time–consuming. For example, making a Christmas cake should start a few weeks beforehand. And it takes about half a year for a Christmas pudding to mature. Yet, it is so delicious that it really worth waiting.

Actually, the British believe that basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavor that there’s no need to invent complex recipes. For instance, nothing can be compared with fresh peas or new potatoes just boiled and served with butter. So, I am absolutely convinced that there’s the only explanation why most visitors consider British food awful: they simply haven’t had an opportunity to sample English home cooking. Probably, they either eat out a lot or (mostly in cheap restaurants) or they eat too much fast food. Nobody will deny that such places are definitely not those where real British cuisine can be found, because English cooking which involves a lot of time doesn’t suit the quick preparation that is required there. British food is found in the home where it is possible to time the dishes to perfection. Apart from that British pubs are often the best places to eat well and cheaply— luckily they still increasingly try to serve tasty British food.