Friday 8 June 2012

Been to Italia!

There are times when you just need to get away from home. I had one of those moments recently and just decided to book an impromptu holiday to Rome.

I spent four days over there, taking in all of the normal sites and tourist spots. But of course one of the things that always interests me more than anything is the food. It drives my girlfriend mad - but I explain that it pays dividends for her in the end as she ends up getting really nice food at the end of it!

But, there was one thing that surprised me when I was over there - and you might think it's a bit of strange thing to say...but bear with me. I was amazed at how many Italian restaurants there were. Now, I know I was in Italy, but in every other major City I've been to, there has been a plethora of different cuisines, all available a very short distance away. It was incredibly difficult to find anything other than the standard Italian fair. Don't get me wrong - I really like Italian food - but there is only so much of it I can take until I fancy something a bit different.

I was having a drink in the hotel and explained this to the barman. As it happens he lived in the UK for a few years during the 70s and had the standard 'all British food is rubbish' attitude. He quite simply believed that the reason you can get so many cuisines in the UK is because...well, we need it.

This, of course, I do not agree with. British food has come a long way in the last twenty or so years and its about time everyone else realised that! I've promised to send the barman a couple of recipes designed to change his tune. But I think the fact he hasn't been back since the 70s says a lot. And hopefully his visit will change that attitude.

The one thing that did cheer me up was the lovely receptionist who overheard our conversation. As it turned out, she loves British good and in fact often cooks it for friends of hers. Now that's progress! She asked for a good recipe for a Shepherd’s pie. Boom!

Anyway...off to make a lasagne ;-)

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