Holiday season is nearly upon us and reportedly 60% of us are planning to "staycation" this year chez nous (apparently some of you are interested in something called the "Global FussBall Cup"...?). Whevs, this surely means treating you and yours to traditional British seaside holiday flavours, no? Walking hand-in-hand down Blackpool promenade with a newspaper cone redolent with the sharp tang of just too much salt and vinegar and the greasy, satisfying pull of fresh batter and chips; the unceasing magic of candy floss, no matter how old you are; the curiously grown-up cream tea from Devon or Cornwall which still has the power to make takers sit a little straighter and eat a little slower. Postcard memories ingrained in the patriotic DNA of every family in the country.
Or not. According to a 'Flavours of Britain' survey by Travelodge, where they asked 1000 children what their favourite British holiday food was, the top 10 foods they enjoyed on holiday included pizza, chicken Tikka Masala, Chinese, burgers, doughnuts, pancakes and waffles. There was a hint of magic in the number two choice of a '99' and thankfully, the top dish remained fish and chips, but the despair was all in the detail. Let's look at some stats (no, really, LET'S...). Brace yourselves...:
Of the 1000 children surveyed:
75% had NEVER had a cream tea; in fact nearly a quarter thought it was a cuppa topped with whipped cream (isn't this, like, child abuse or something?)
TWO-THIRDS (!!) had NEVER had a stick of rock (someone call Esther Rantzen RIGHT NOW)
36% had NEVER had candy floss (*falls over*)
12% had never had fish and chips at the seaside (we blame the rain)
58% had never had a Cornish pasty and 32% had no idea what one was anyway (no doubt they all jadedly thought it was some kind of West Country burlesque act)
Less surprisingly, 90% had never had haggis or even really knew what it was; 98% had never tried jellied eels and thought it was jelly made of eels; 87% had never had cockles. Given most of the general population now refuses to eat these particular treats, whether at home or on hols, we're prepared to give them a pass on that, but still... where has the magic of the British holiday gone? Isn't it all encapsulated in those flavour memories, as accessible now in your mind as at point of eating, along with the jangle of amusement arcades, the sticky smell of melted ice cream and wet sand on your t-shirt, the taste of salt on your lips that makes you crave a Coke?
Eating at home has never been better or, frankly, cheaper, particularly when you're looking for just really good British food. It's obviously perfectly possible - and easier - to access really bad British food, or even not really British seaside food at all, but doesn't it seem a massive shame to deny our kids those memories we have of a seaside holiday, of a (out-of-date-concept) "treat" of a stick of rock and the concomitant lockjaw or any of the above?
What are your favourite holiday food memories? Are those places still open so we can compile a guide for others? Or do you prefer to bring the exotic home and have a Thai instead? Answers on a saucy postcard, please...
