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Why I’ll Be Eating Like the Brits More Often
We just returned from 10 days in London and Dublin with our three young adult children plus one girlfriend. What a whirlwind – cathedrals, galleries, Roman ruins and the Crown Jewels, plus a few pints here and there. I have a cousin in London and we were also fortunate to able to stay with her and her husband for a few days during our visit.
After a day full day of sightseeing and negotiating the tubes and trains in London, we returned each evening to my cousin’s flat around six o’clock ready for a break. Over plates of dry sausage, cheeses, olives and homemade marinated artichoke hearts, we spent an hour or so talking about our day and what we had seen, while planning our next foray into the city. By 7:30, someone started cooking and we ate dinner an hour or so later, wrapping up by 10:00.
After a couple of days of this routine, I apologized to my cousin for delaying their dinner every night. Nonsense, she said, this is how we eat every day. She told me their meals are typically divided into at least two courses, starters and mains. Each course is meant to be enjoyed on its own with plenty of time in between. Likewise, in restaurants we never felt rushed to finish and leave our table. Plates were not cleared immediately and we usually had to ask for the check. Instead of being expected to eat and leave, we were expected to eat and stay.
Vacation is over now and back here in the real world I know three-hour dinners won’t become the new normal. But during those late night dinners, I was reminded that time spent together at the table is important to making and keeping connections with those we love the most, no matter whether it’s a pizza at home or my cousin’s stuffed sea bass. For me, I’ll be eating like the Brits more often.
Posted by Randa