Text 5. Eating out in Britain

Although it is far less unusual than it is used to be, going to a restaurant is still a comparatively rare event for most British people. Regular restaurant-going is confined mostly to the richest section of society. Partly for this reason, there is an element of snobbery associated with it. Merely being in an expensive restaurant sometimes seems to be more important to people than the food eaten in it. For example, in 1992 a survey by experts found that most of the caviar in top London restaurants was not what it claimed to be (the most prized beluga variety) and was often stale or going bad. The experts commented that restaurants used the mystique of caviar to hide the low quality of what they served because 'the majority of people don't really know what they're eating'.

Another expression of snobbery in the more expensive restaurants is in the menus. In a country where few public notices appear in any language other than English, these are a unique phenomenon — all the dishes have non-English names, most commonly French (reflecting the high regard for French cuisine). It also makes the food sound more exotic and therefore more exciting. Many customers of these restaurants have little idea of what actually goes, in to the dish they have chosen. But when the government suggested that menus should give details of ingredients in dishes, all the country's chefs and restaurateurs were outraged. They argued this would take the fun out of eating out.

There are few restaurants in Britain which are actually British. Because they do it so rarely, when people go out for a meal in the evening, they want to be served something they don't usually eat. Every town in the country has at least one Indian restaurant and probably a Chinese one too. Larger towns and cities have restaurants representing cuisine from all over the world.

Eating places which serve British food are used only for more everyday purposes. Apart from pubs, there are two types, both of which are comparatively cheap. One is used during the day, most typically by manual workers, and is therefore sometimes described as a 'workman's cafe' (pronounced 'caff). But it is also used by anybody else who wants a filling meal, likes the informal atmosphere and is not over-worried about cleanliness. It offers mostly fried food and for this reason it is also sometimes jokingly called a 'greasy spoon'. Many of them are 'transport cafes' at the sides of main roads. The other type is the fish-and-chip shop, used in the evening for 'take-away’ meals. Again, the fish is deep fried.

Fast food outlets are now more common in Britain than they are in most other countries. Cynics might claim this is because the British have no sense of taste. However, their popularity is probably better explained sociologically. Other types of eating place in Britain tend to have class associations. As a result, large sections of society feel unable to relax in them. But a fast food restaurant does not have such strong associations of this kind. Although there is sometimes local middle-class protest when a new one appears in their area, people from almost any class background can feel comfortable in them.

TASKS:

1. Explain the meaning of the following:

stale; to go bad (about food); a chef; a restaurateur; a 'workman's cafe'; a filling meal; a 'greasy spoon'; 'transport cafes'; a fish-and-chip shop; a take-away meal; deep fried fish; a fast food outlet; class associations.

2. Answer the following questions:

a) What is peculiar about going to a restaurant in Great Britain?

b) What do you think is the assumption behind the argument that giving details of ingredients in dishes will take the fun of eating out?

c) What are the reasons for a large number of restaurants representing cuisine from all over the world?

d) What are the two- types of eating places which serve British food? What is peculiar about them?

e) How can the popularity of fast food outlets be explained?

3. Speak on different types of eating places in Great Britain, restaurant-going traditions of the British and compare them with those of Ukrainians.

4. Answer the questions (your own experience of eating out might help):

When you are eating out should you

a) bother to ring up to cancel a booking?

b) ring up if you are going to arrive late?

c) inform the restaurant beforehand if you're bringing a child with you?

d) read the menu outside before you go in?

s) spend plenty of time studying the menu at your table?

f) ask the staff questions about the dishes on the menu?

g)worry about your fellow diners?

h) criticise the way the meal was prepared, if it was poor?

i) give the waiter a tip even if you had a bad meal?

j) tell your friend about your eating experience?