The UK has become a nation of foodies, with increasingly sophisticated tastes and an appetite for world cuisines. Witness all the TV food programmes and cookery books, the celebrity status of many chefs, the popularity of farmers’ markets and regional food fairs, the trend in food related travel and the money we spend on doing up kitchens. Jamie Oliver won massive support for his campaign for improved standards in school dinners and Gillian McKeith had phenomenal success from her ‘you are what you eat’ approach to eating. And yet, we are also labelled a bad food nation.

    The ready meal boom

    The UK eats the most ready meals in Europe. Pizza, pasta, oven chips all quickly re-heated and no messing. Supermarkets and convenience stores display a dazzling range ? the more exotic the better. Julia Michna, head of ‘meal solutions’ at Marks and Spencer observes that ‘Britain’s multiculturalism [means] ethnic cuisines, which people are often scared of cooking from scratch, are far more popular. One quarter of chilled meals are Indian, and nearly one in five is Chinese’. Only 18% of sales are for traditional British food. We want a tastier, spicier variation on the bland, standard UK diet.

    Taste, time, trends ? and talent

    Why do ready meals seduce us? Convenience certainly; people commonly say they are too busy; they don’t have enough time to cook. Other relevant trends in the ready meal boom are social; as more people live alone they are less motivated to cook from scratch. Families often eat apart, and ready-meals allow them more flexibility. Lloyd, 26, from Devon, says ‘I think ready meals are okay. They do what that say (give you a fast food fix). My favourite is Marks and Spencer jacket potato with cheese.’ Ashleigh, 22, from Downpatrick, says ‘My favourites are pizza and frozen meals which I have about twice a week.’

    Culturally of course, some people would say that the main problem is that the average British person has no talent for cooking; our passion for ready meals is all a disguise of our basic incompetence and confusion in the kitchen. What do you think?

    英国已成为饮食之国，人们的品味越来越挑剔，世界各国的佳肴越来越现诸街头。看看所有那些电视饮食节目和烹饪书籍、许多大厨的名誉和声望、农村市场和地区食品交易会的流行、食品游的趋势以及我们装修厨房的花费。杰米?奥利佛（Jamie Oliver）发动了学生饮食标准改良运动并获得了大众支持。吉莉安?麦基斯主张“你怎么吃，就长什么样”，这一提法看上去很成功。尽管如此，我们还被标榜为名不副实的饮食之国。

    即食品高峰

    英国是欧洲最大的即食品消费国。比萨、意大利面条和烤薯条都可以速热即食，无需复杂准备。超市和便利店陈列的食品系列令人眼花缭乱－越是不同寻常越好。玛莎百货集团（Marks and Spencer）饮食解决方案部主管朱莉亚?米奇纳认为：“英国的多元文化主义〔意味着〕民族烹饪风格，人们常常害怕从零开始做饭，这一现象越来越普遍。四分之一的冷却食品来自印度，将近五分之一来自中国。”传统英国食品的销售额仅为18%。我们希望温和的常规英国饮食更加可口、更加辛辣。

    品味、时间、趋势和天份

    即食品为什么吸引我们？原因当然是便利。人们往往说他们太忙、没时间做饭。即食品高峰的其他趋势则是社会性的。越来越多的人选择单独居住，他们没什么做饭的动力。家庭成员往往分开吃饭，即食品则极具灵活性。德文郡26岁的劳埃德（Lloyd）说：“我认为即食品还可以。它们的说明是什么，就可以给你提供什么（迅速为你确定食品）。我最喜欢吃玛莎的奶酪带皮马铃薯。”唐帕特里克（Downpatrick）22岁的艾施利（Ashleigh）说：“我最爱吃比萨和冻肉，基本上一星期吃两次。”

    当然，有些人会说主要问题在于英国人几乎没有烹饪天份，我们对即食品的热衷实际上掩盖了我们对厨房的无能为力和一片混杂。你觉得呢？