How History Influenced The Myth Of Bland British Food

History

Traditions

Why British Food Became Known As Boring And Bland By Joe Hoeffner Sept. 26, 2025 3:00 pm EST

There is a joke about heaven and hell, and the positions various European nationalities would fill in each; it's a bit too involved to tell here, but the gist of it is that, in hell, the cooks are English. Few cuisines are as maligned as British cuisine, which gets attacked on a few different fronts. There are some strong-tasting foods which repulse unsuspecting diners, such as Marmite, and there are dishes with eyebrow-raising (if not stomach-turning) ingredients, such as haggis and blood pudding (the kind of pudding that was originally referred to in the saying " the proof is in the pudding "). But the prevailing complaint has to do with its perceived blandness —