When I think of traditional British food, I think of fish & chips, Sunday roast dinner, steak & kidney pie and bangers & mash. These are none of the foods I will miss when I move to Chile, mostly because I don’t eat meat! But also, lots of British people don’t eat very much British food as we are lucky to have lots of choice of cuisine to enjoy.
I’ve thought of five categories of food that I will miss the most:
Marmite
The tagline is that you either love it or hate it, and I’m definitely a Marmite lover! For those of you who are wondering what this thick, sticky spread is, it’s yeast extract. Which definitely doesn’t make it sound great at all! If you come across Marmite, don’t do what my French friend did and stick a teaspoon into the jar and eat that in one! You only need a very thin layer on toast, and I also love it accompanied with cheese, egg or avocado; great pairs! Luckily, Marmite is easily transportable and last time I lived in Chile I took two 500g jars with me. I intend to do this same this time too 😉 I also introduced Carlos’ family to Marmite, and I don’t think they fell into the ‘love’ category! What do you think about Marmite (or Vegemite)?
Packaged sandwiches
It’s not that I love packaged sandwiches at all, actually it’s because they are really useful! In the UK, we are really fond of any type of filled sandwich variety; baguettes, rolls and wraps, they are sold everywhere and we often rely on them for a quick lunch. The time in Chile when I missed this useful food source was when I was getting a long distance bus during lunchtime or when I had a break between teaching classes and needed to grab something quickly. I think this reflects a difference in culture regarding lunch as Chileans are more likely to have their main meal at lunch and they more often take a proper lunch break whereas in the UK, people often scoff down a sandwich hunched over their desk. I much prefer the Chilean way! Unsurprisingly, I don’t have any photos of packaged sandwiches…
Indian Food
My favourite type of food and one that we have adopted as a major cuisine here in the UK. Every main road has at least one Indian restaurant on to either eat in or take away, some are more authentic than others! I fell in love with Indian food when I was in India and it is now my food of choice when eating out. Luckily, Indian food is becoming more popular in Chile so it is more easily found now, though they may not have four on one road!
Vegetarian selection
Chilean food is generally very meaty so people sometimes panic when I say I don’t eat meat as they are unsure of what I do eat! I’m very lucky in the UK to have lots of options of vegetarian food in restaurants and it isn’t so weird to be veggie!
Food from around the world
This is perhaps the one I will miss the most. In the UK you can get food from every corner of the globe so you get to experience so many different flavours and dishes. It’s also a great way to learn something about a culture, even though you may be just a few miles from home. So I’ll be getting creative in the kitchen to enjoy tastes from around the world.
My next post will be all about the Chilean food that I’m looking forward to eating again!
Which food do you love from your home country? What do you think of British food?
Marcella xx
WhatAWonderfulWorld 
I haven’t tried any British traditional food except for fish and chips and tea/scones, which I both love and I’m not really that interested in trying the other traditional foods like the ones you stated in your first paragraph.
But from living in London for a year, I can understand some of your choices. Packaged sandwiches were great! Pret a manger was one of my favorite spots ever. And then there is the variety of world cuisines too. Just down the street from my flat we had delicious Italian and Indian restaurants.
I believe I’ve tasted marmite and hated it. My food taste have definitely evolved to like things I used to hate over time, so I would be willing to give it a second chance, especially paired with something as I tasted it on its own.
I realize now I am not sure of what traditional Chilean dishes are, so looking forward to your next post!
Yay for Pret – it’s my favourite sandwich place and probably the one I will miss the most! I like that everything there is so fresh.
Haha, lots of people really do hate Marmite! It is a strong flavour and maybe a weird flavour at first 😉
I like bangers&mash, and I like English breakfast but without the black pudding bit! 😉 I haven’t tried marmite but I don’t think I’d like it since I’ve smelled it and didn’t want to try it 🙂
Totally know what you mean about the smell of Marmite – it’s really over powering and strong. The taste (in my opinion) is way better 🙂
ok, but I still won’t try it;)
Ahh! London is the foodie capital of the world though. And missing the food in your new hometown is bound to happen sooner or later. Stock up Marcella. I know for a fact that I wish I did!
So true, it really is!! Aww, which food are you missing the most?
haha I would definitely restrict the vegetarian comment to England and perhaps London, because being vege in Scotland is basically a joke! You ask where the tofu is at the store and they’ll stare at you blankly! But yes I would see Chile being the same! At least you can eat avocado every day and that’s it? 😉 haha funny to hear you’re a marmite lover! I’ve never tasted it and I don’t really want to lol
Oh no, really? That’s tough! All of the chain and independent restaurants here always have a good few veggie options so I never have to worry about not being able to eat anything! With time, restaurants have even more veggie options as there is more choice now than when I was a child. Guess that’s another reason you should move to London then, eh? 😉
And oh yes for the avocado in Chile, all day, everyday!
I miss a Saturday night take away Curry! Especially now Strictly is starting again…
But not enough to take me back to the UK just yet!
Yum! Good old Saturday night TV 😉
Oh, I see marmite is no.1. Can you guess what I so desperately wanted to spread on my avocado bagel this morning? 😉 lol
You may be lucky enough to eat some of my Marmite in Chile… then you can remember that you don’t even like it!