[TotoMimo]

SUNDAY 8TH JULY

TODAY'S DEBATE: If you could value and quantify a SINGLE fast food article or item as the single most important, relevant or prominent example of the phrase "Fast Food", which item would that be... And why?

[ihaveyourcat]

The burger- when you think fast food you can't not think about burgers! They're tasty, you can put different things on them to add some variety- cheese/ letuce/ tomato/ onions/ pickle/ ketchup/ relish- the list goes on!
Fast food would be nothing without the humble burger

[dani_1991]

I'm confused, do you mean which food is the defining 'fast food' item? Because I'd say hamburger if that's what you mean. Nowhere else can you get a burger in under 5 minutes, cooking them takes like 30 minutes. Chips are a close second but you can get microchips oe chips from the chippy, which I don't consider actual fast food like a hamburger. The Mcd's hamburger is just THE fast food item I think of when people say fast food. If that's what you meant

[MelissaJayne]

I'd say subs. Because they're made INSTANTLY and fresh, total composure of them is down to your choice. If it was the same in McDs etc and products weren't already designed, they wouldn't be as fast.

[TotoMimo]

VERDICT:
TSR'S LIMITED RESPONSE CONSIDERED BY MAJORITY THAT THE HAMBURGER IS MOST SYNONYMOUS WITH FAST FOOD AS A PHRASE AND CONCEPT. THOUGH CHIPS, SANDWICHES AND OTHERS CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, THEY ALSO TAKE ON FORMS LESS "FAST FOOD"; BUT THE BURGER, EVEN IN IT'S MOST SOPHISTICATED FIRM, EMANATES "FAST FOOD". Debate harder my tsr brethren!!

[TotoMimo]

MONDAY 9TH JULY

TODAYS DEBATE: BRITISH CUISINE IS UNFAIRLY TOUTED AS "ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST BORING".

DOES IT DESERVE THIS MONIKER IN YOUR OPINION, AND STATE YOUR REASONING!

be fierce!

[LETSJaM]

WHAT PLANET ARE YOU ON?!?

There are pockets of ground breaking cuisine all over the country. The most famous example is clearly Heston Blumenthal. A course at his restaurant is very British, but could never be called 'boring'.

<3 x

[skunky x]

I think the problem is no-one is willing to make it more exciting! If we could make it more exciting than 'Pie and mash' or 'Beef Wellington' I'd probably eat more of it.

It's just good hearty food, but that's the problem - it's simple and doesn't have any of the finesse we associate with other cuisines - Indian requires spice knowledge, French is full of subtle flavour and Italian uses all sorts of different strong flavours. We see it as easy so it's not considered good.

[helen-a-ravenclaw]

I'm afraid I do have to agree with the statement that British food can be quite boring.

I mean, look at all the other different countries and their food. Chinese, Thai, Indian, Greek, French, Italian, Japanese, Jamacan Mexican, Spanish, Polish, German... all wonderfully tasty and exciting cusines where you can get a wide variety of dishes for any taste preference. Theres such spice, such variety, such flavours! (Well, that's my opinion anyway.)

But what does Britain have? Pie and mash? Roast dinner (gasp shock horror, I'm not a massive fan of a roast)? Boiled veggies and meat? That sounds appetising...

No for me, Britain's traditional dishes just don't cut it. They just don't have the variety and exciting sensations that other cultures food does.

Aside from fish and chips, I can't say that I'm really grabbed by any typical british main dish.

That being said, I do think we have the best breakfasts (the fry up) and some of the best sweets (seaside fudge and 'Cadbury' brand) in the world!

[MelissaJayne]

I think anyone who makes the claim that British food is boring clearly hasn't been to Britain or studied British food in a good, decade or so. I mean, it's difficult to even define British food anymore, that's how vast and varied it has become. We have a Curry Capital! And some of the best chefs in the world. I mean, in these last few years we've become practically obsessed with food. Hence, all these threads, come dine with me, every other tv cooking show on now. In my senior school our lunch menu had things like Chocolate and Beetroot brownie, beer battered curried fish. THIS IS SCHOOL DINNERS.

Boring? Me thinks not.

[helen-a-ravenclaw]

(Original post by MelissaJayne)
I think anyone who makes the claim that British food is boring clearly hasn't been to Britain or studied British food in a good, decade or so. I mean, it's difficult to even define British food anymore, that's how vast and varied it has become. We have a Curry Capital! And some of the best chefs in the world. I mean, in these last few years we've become practically obsessed with food. Hence, all these threads, come dine with me, every other tv cooking show on now. In my senior school our lunch menu had things like Chocolate and Beetroot brownie, beer battered curried fish. THIS IS SCHOOL DINNERS.

Boring? Me thinks not.

Yes but curry is originally an indian dish.

We may be a foodie nation, as you say with all the cooking and food shows on tv, but how much of that is traditional, british fare?

Britain is a very racially mixed country, and the food reflects that. Britain does have great food, but how much of it is traditionally british?

We've been influenced by all these cultures coming into the UK, including the food. Because of this, we have access to such a wide range of food from other cultures.

I think a clear statement to back up my point is you go to another country, you rarely see a 'British takeaway' or a 'british restaurant' but here there are plently of indian, chinese, thai, italian etc restaurants. Why? Because british food is boring and other cultures simlpy aren't interested in it.

[MelissaJayne]

(Original post by helen-a-ravenclaw)
Yes but curry is originally an indian dish.

We may be a foodie nation, as you say with all the cooking and food shows on tv, but how much of that is traditional, british fare?

Britain is a very racially mixed country, and the food reflects that. Britain does have great food, but how much of it is traditionally british?

We've been influenced by all these cultures coming into the UK, including the food. Because of this, we have access to such a wide range of food from other cultures.

I think a clear statement to back up my point is you go to another country, you rarely see a 'British takeaway' or a 'british restaurant' but here there are plently of indian, chinese, thai, italian etc restaurants. Why? Because british food is boring and other cultures simlpy aren't interested in it.

I give you those points, but if you really look deeper into that argument, a lot of "British" foods aren't really British at all. I mean, I think it was the Jewish race that really bought fish and chips over if you take it back that far. I'm talking about the here and now, you can only take the country as you find it. I don't look at English-born Indians and English-born Chinese people as not British; simply because that isn't the case anymore. As a country we have ADOPTED these other cultures, in a sense that they are now a part of us. If they were just "visiting" cultures or "borrowed" I'd agree with you. But I think Britain has accepted her future as a mixed-culture nation, and with that, we have a mix of cuisines too.

I mean, during the Empire a lot of places were ruled by Britain anyway so we probably made our mark on these other cultures and cuisines.

[TotoMimo]

Although as a mediator I am not allowed to use my own argument in the verdict what I CAN do is to confirm facts already mentioned and bolster them. Previously mentioned is that Fish and Chips was a "Jewish Dish" brought here; that's a half-truth. As we were in a country with such an abundance of cheap white fish almost as cheap at the time as the potatoes, it was actually a conscious decision by a group of Jewish immigrants to create the cheap dish whilst resident here, effectively making excellent use of our most cheap and abundant resources.

As the British Empire covered everything from India to Australia, a lot of dishes fusing the Queen's fine island with the native cuisines resulted in new exciting dishes being formed. So it's really a matter of joint ownership; you can't say India has a monopoly on curry, as curries are merely specifically seasoned stews.

Between multiple regions of the UK some of the dishes attributed to Britain's origin or influence include:

Haggis, The Full English Breakfast, The Scone, Drop Scones (Scotch Pancake), the Pikelet, Kedgeree, Black Pudding, Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, Welsh Rarebit, Cawl, Irish Stew, Tattie Scones, Cranachan, Gammon and Pineapple, Cornish Pasties, The Macaroni Pie, Stonner Kebab, Coronation Chicken, Arbroath Sokies, Scotch Broth, Mulligatawny Soup, Steak and Kidney Pie, Spotted Dick, the Vienetta, Tunnocks Tescakes, Strawberries and Cream, Empire Biscuits, Coconut Snowballs, Eton Mess, Stovies, Bully Beef(corned beef), Jaffa Cakes, Rich Tea Biscuits, Iced Gibger Sponge, Spotted Dick, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Shepherds Pie, Chicken and Leek Pie, Prawn Cocktail, and an incredible spectrum of others.

[helen-a-ravenclaw]

You do both make good points. Yes, the British Empire would have brought a lot of new food and flavours into Britain and modern day Britian does take a lot of inspiration in its standard and common dishes from other cultures.

But I still stand firm that I think the more traditional British dishes (as mentioned in Toto's post) just aren't collectively as exciting and tasty as other food avaliable to us today.

Why do you think Britain took so much influence from other cultures in their food? Because the traditional food is most often bland and samey. The new flavours and spices and dishes introduced would have been such a change that they would grab onto them and not let go.

So yes....my foodie opinion is that I would much prefer having an spicey indian or mexican over a samey roast dinner. (Apologies!)

[dani_1991]

I would have to deny that it is 'boring' I think. It's pretty heavy and simple, true, but bangers and mash or a roast dinner for someone who has only had spanish cuisine for all their life may find it a delightful change, with multiple flavours and textures to it. I think maybe the simplistiy can be confused with boring. Who among us would turn down an apple crumble and cream/custard/ice cream because 'it's boring'?. I doubt it! If you hadn't had it in months, instead having fruit salad every day, and then had it, I'm sure you'd think it was delightful and not at all boring. I think it depends on what you're comparing it to and how often you have it. A plain piece of bread can be boring, a simple carrot can be dull, it's what you do with it that counts!

[Jake22]

British food and even what people would consider 'traditional' British food cooked with mostly homegrown produce is far from boring and is replete with regional variety.

eg.

Scottish fish and seafood

Welsh lamb cooked with domestically available herbs such as rosemary, sage, parsley, marjoram and home grown berries such as redcurrants.

Black Country pork and apple stew cooked with local apples and herbs as above

MelissaJayne makes a god point when she talks about the plainer foods (roast meat with boiled veg) being common or garden school dinner fodder. Do you think that Indian and Chinese food (to name two of the counter examples given) are always as exciting as exotic curries with plenty of spices? Not at all; many indians spend a lot of time eating more mundane dishes such as roti with ghee i.e. bread and butter and chinese people often eat plainer rice dishes such as congee and chopped and boiled chicken and cabbage as part of the staple diet.

In the same way, traditional British cuisine offers more subtle and flavoured dishes such as rich stews with a delicate balance of fresh herbs - even a Lancashire hotpot done to a high standard (with kidneys, bay leafs and worcestershire sauce) is rich and has a level of complexity.

(Original post by helen-a-ravenclaw)
Yes but curry is originally an indian dish.

There is a concept of British curries. No, I am not talking about postwar immigrants coming over and setting up balti houses - it goes back way further than that to the Empire days. Even as far back as the 17th century British fleets were going overseas and bringing back spices and concocting their own curry recipes.

Check out, for example, this article http://www.goforanenglish.com/oldenglish/curry.html
which talks about part of the history of British curry.

I also remember my grandma telling me that her father, who was a career soldier who spent a lot of time in India after the first world war, used to somehow get hold of curry powder and make curries in the 1930s.

[helen-a-ravenclaw]

I seem to have been outnumbered terribly so on this issue.

But then I suppose that does happen in a debate. Maybe i'll have better luck with the next topic!

[TotoMimo]

VERDICT:
TSR HAS DECIDED BY VAST MAJORITY THAT THE BRITISH CUISINE IS NOT AS MUNDANE AS IT IS SO OFTEN TOUTED. MOREOVER, DUE TO THE BRITISH AT ONE POINT SPANNING FOUR CONTINENTS, THE INFLUENCES TO AND FROM IT'S CUISINE ARE EFFICTIVELY GLOBAL!

next debate coming shortly.

[TotoMimo]

TUESDAY 10TH JULY

TODAY'S DEBATE: Simple this time. What, in your opinion, makes the perfect chip? Cut, colour, shape, size, flavour?

[whyumadtho]

Whatever McDonald's do to their chips. They're not very filling but they taste amazing.