16. Food - typical Czech and English cuisine

16. Food – typical Czech and English cuisine

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but nevertheless a lot of people in Czech Republic do not have breakfast. I have breakfast, because I get up early and I have much time. Typical Czech breakfast: cup of tea or coffee, roll or bread with ham, cheese or with jam, and sometimes something sweet for example croissant. Czech breakfast is quick.

Usually British breakfast consists of a glass of fruit juice and cornflakes with sugar and milk or toast with orange or ginger jam with tea. Sundays are reserved for their big cooked breakfast. But typical traditional British breakfast is made up of fried bacon, sausages, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and tea.

The lunch is in the Czech Republic main meal of the day. In the week most people have lunch at work, at school canteen, but some people prefer going to a restaurant or having fast food in a buffet or buy something in a street stall. At the weekend we eat at home or in restaurants. The main meal usually consists of three meals – soup, main meal and dessert. Typical Czech soup is made of chicken, beef, vegetable and other. Soups may be either vegetable, potato, tomato, pea, bean, carrot, parsley, celery, mushrooms. The Czech menu often offers favourite roast pork with dumplings or potato dumpling and cabbage. Other typical main meals are a fried pork or chicken schnitzel with boiled potatoes, chips or vegetable salad, or goulash with dumplings. The main dish can be either sweet such as fruit dumplings or pancakes with jam and cream. As a desert we eat fruit, ice-cream, pudding, cakes.

Meat=beef, pork, veal, mutton, lamb, fish or poultry with some vegetables such as potatoes, chips, rice, Czech dumpling, pasta or bread

An evening meal may be either warm or cold. Cold and quick dinner consist of bread or rolls with butter, ham, salami, cheese. Dinner in Britain is main meal of the day, often convenience food bought in a shop and heated at home.

Most Czechs drink beer. It is a typical drink in the Czech Republic. Our beer is known around all world. Czechs are in first place in the number of beers, which we drink, each Czech drink every year many litters of beer.

Typical Czech meals are tripe soup, potato soup, roasted goose and cabbage and Czech dumplings, roasted pork and cabbage and Czech dumplings potato pancakes, fruit dumplings, fried chees etc.

The traditional perception of British cuisine is of overcooked vegetables, tasteless meat and a lot of grease, but British eating habits have changed over last thirty years. Traditional English meals are fish and chips, roast beef, Christmas pudding or Yorkshire pudding (similar to Czech langoš).

The typical British break is teatime around four o´clock. While in our country an afternoon snack is not common, it is a special occasion in Britain. It is usually fairy strong and eaten together with some cakes or biscuits.

Fast food is a typical feature of both British and Czech life styles. At fast food restaurants (e.g. McDonald´s, KFC, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken) usually offer beverages (Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, tea, milkshakes…), some solid food like roast chicken and chips, hamburgers, sandwiches, pizza or salads.