'Many drivers think that eating out on the roads in this country is expensive'
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( by is that we British spend so much time knocking our own country and our own abilities? We love to criticise ourselves and to believe that everyone else does things a great deal better.
Having spent most of my working lifetime in the catering industry and travelling the globe looking at restaurants of all kinds, I believe that we do this country a great injustice running down and complaining about the quality of our food.
It has long been regarded as fashionable to claim that British truckstop catering is inferior to anything that is available on the Continent or in the US. The reality is quite the opposite.
While there will be individual examples of excellence in any country, the standard in Britain is generally as good as anything our foreign friends can provide. What can beat the traditional British breakfast or the succulent steaks or traditional British puddings that are lobe found in establishments up and down the country, on motorways and off motorways?
It is not good enough to confuse the appeal of eating a meal, say, by the roadside in the sunshine of Southern France with the actual quality of food on the plate. The atmosphere of being in a foreign country and eating unusual and different foods can be appealing, but I would defend the quality and variety of food on offer in this country—even in the pouring rain—as being just as good as anything available there.
And when it comes to price there are some surprising comparisons. Many drivers think that eating out on the roads in this country is expensive but it is nowhere near as expensive as buying similar dishes in France or Germany. With the offers, promotions and meal deals available to drivers it is possible to get far better value in the UK than in other countries. Only perhaps in the US is the food actually cheaperbut then who could survive on a constant diet of burgers, pizzas and chips?
When it comes to healthy eating this country is up with the rest in its range of fresh foods, salads, vegetarian dishes and interesting low calorie selections. Those of us that continue to love the "naughty but nice" dishes can still indulge but there is a huge range of now available for us to balance our diets and pick and choose how and when we indulge.
It is high time that we stopped attacking the present standards and instead began to create a greater sense of pride and appreciation in what is on offer. Criticism will simply mean that the best staff, the best chefs and the best talent in the catering industry will not want to be associated with roadside catering and will turn to other areas where their talents will be more appreciated.
What we need is to have greater pride and to give greater recognition to the quality that is already out there so that we encourage young chefs and young catering staff to join an area which they see as having a positive image. Only if this happens will the present standards continue to improve and not decline through lack of interest, or worse still, unjustified criticism. /