One point in defence of British food is that its simple dishes depend on the quality and freshness of their ingredients for their flavour.

Freshly harvested potatoes, cauliflower and carrots, for example, have an exceptional flavour. The taste profile is quite different from something from the supermarket. Dishes based on these fresh ingredients are delicious.

And another reason the cuisine can be so bad – wartime and post-war rationing. A whole generation had nothing to cook with for 10–15 years. It would have been like living under Cromwell again!