If you’ve been online recently, you might have come across a lot of people making fun of British scran. For those blissfully unaware, they say that it’s all colourless, and that it doesn’t have enough flavour. Look, there’s not much we can do to beat the beige allegations; we do love a beige pie with beige potatoes and beige beans on the side, but food across the UK is definitely not flavourless. And now we’ve got the evidence to prove it.
TasteAtlas, whose entire thing is going around the world and trying food, has released its ratings for 2024’s 100 best cuisines on Earth – and both England and Scotland have claimed spots. Our neighbours Ireland have also made it, although, sadly, no luck for the Welsh.
England was ranked 48th, just above Ethiopia but narrowly beaten by Macedonia. But what is it about English food that is so great? According to TasteAtlas, highlights include afternoon tea, fish and chips, and breakfast with all the trimmings. Beige? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely.
There were also a few ‘must try’ foods named, which included clotted cream, black pudding, and, um, sea salt. We don’t mean to diminish England’s success here, but we’re fairly certain they didn’t invent salt. Still, apparently they do it better than anyone else. That’s pretty impressive.
Scotland appeared a bit further down, and yes, haggis was mentioned as a particular triumph. As was the ever-divisive deep-fried mars bar. Other Scottish foods which TasteAtlas liked included scones, angus beef, cullen skink, and porridge. It can’t all be glamorous, we suppose. Notable omissions to Scotland’s entry included Tunnock’s teacakes and Buckfast. That’s how you dine like a true Scotsman.
Although England was in the top 50 countries, its capital city London didn’t manage to reach the same heights in the cities list, making it to 90th globally. That’s still better than Scotland, which didn’t see a single city crack the list. So much for having world class porridge.
Topping the international cuisine chart was Greece, which we can’t really argue with. You can find a full list of the world’s best cuisines according to TasteAtlas here.
Eating in the UK
Now that you know we do good food, you’ll want to know where to get your hands on some. We’ve uncovered some secret foodie locations that you might not have thought of, and we have lists of the best restaurants in the country, as well as our picks for the most romantic places to eat in Britain.
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