Len and Ainsleys food adventure

meritaten

Has anyone seen the BBC programme with Len Goodman and Ainsley Harriot?
to those who haven't - Len is very much of my late mums mindset - likes the food he was brought up on and wont touch 'foreign muck'!
as the week has gone on its been fascinating to watch Len try other countries foods. I wont give away his reactions in case other people on here want to watch it on iplayer.
but, I was pretty much brought up on the same foods as Len - mum wasn't an 'awful' cook but stuck to the same things.
I can remember when the first Chinese takeaway came to the village - mum and dad were out on Saturday nights, so bro and I headed over there for our supper - and fell in love with Chinese food! didn't matter how carefully we hid the 'evidence' or how much 'Pledge' we sprayed around, mum would smell it when she came in and go nuts!
She didn't even trust French recipes - but dad adored my Beef Bourgignon. she wouldn't even taste it!
so, the point is - are you 'adventurous' or do you stick to 'good old British recipes'?

VfM4meplse

I think we're spoiled with the plethora of good choices available to us!

It's a nice dilemma to have, though.

PasturesNew

I stick to what I know/like ... mostly 1970s stuff. I do eat some indian and some chinese.

The problem is that there's no opportunity to try something new without spending money/time - and if it's awful then you've just wasted money/time and are then sitting there without food, hungry and you've got to start again.

That's why I can never order a meal at a takeaway that I don't know if I like or not .... -v- something I know I like.

Same with trying new things at home, why risk it?

I've seen the Len/Ainsley programme. Some of it's good, some of it's slow going. And, as a rule of thumb, Ainsley's "right odd".

suki1964

I was introduced to different foods in my late teens. I hung around with an older crowd and they were already well versed in Indian, Chinese , Greek and Italian food so when we went out they would order and I would have an empty plate and tried all their dishes. Soon found out what I liked and disliked

Now I just dive right in and order what sounds good or what the waiter can recommend

At home I cook Indian and Chinese and Italian regularly

I love going abroad and eating local foods. I can't understand those that are on holiday hunting out the English restaraunts serving a full English and Sunday roast

That's not to say I don't love English food. Last night was live and bacon and the plates were near licked clean, but then so was the plates the other night when I made chicken tikka masala and onion bhajees

Pollycat

Re the actual programme, I caught a bit of it.
Len's comment 'I don't eat anything I can't pronounce'. :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

I enjoy Indian food and anything spicy but have never like Chinese food at all.When my late Oh was alive he loved a Chinese meal and I would be polite and go to the restaurant with him but usually have an omelette or if they had it a curry of some sort .I am not keen at all on the sauces and sweet and sour to me just tastes yuk.but each to their own and I will always try something different if I can and especially if I am abroad I will try a local dish. I used to love the Lampuka sp? fish in Malta cooked in butter.I always enjoy eating out with my brother and his partner when I visit him in France but I have to draw the line at snails :):)

Gigervamp

I haven't watched these, but it sounds similar to the recent series with Terry Wogan and Mason somebody-or-other.

They drove in Mason's black cab around the UK, trying the different regional foods.

When I was growing up (60s and 70s) we ate mostly standard British food, but we did sometimes have Chinese and spaghetti bolognese was quite exotic at the time!

But when I was a teen, I discovered falafel and hummus and thought they were wonderful.

I love curries, Mexican, and middle eastern tagines, but most Greek food doesn't really appeal, nor Japanese.

Having said that, you can't beat a good traditional roast, and the old British way of serving just meat and two veg types of meals is much easier to cook than many "foreign" meals.

candygirl

Qs I've watched a couple of episodes, n Len really makes me laugh �� I am veggie, and love trying different things, but hate chinese food, as it's too greasy y for me, but I love Indian and Italian, and make a lot of these myself
My Nana used to hate " foreign muck", but her idea of heaven, a roast dinner, is my worst nightmare.

moneyistooshorttomention

To me - this programme is an obvious copycat one for the Terry Wogan one.

I haven't watched the Wogan one - as I got put off by a newspaper interview with him where he kept on and on and on calling his wife "Lady" (ie "I'm a Sir you know" in just a very slightly subtler way of putting it").

Hence I boycotted the Wogan one personally.

So - I did watch one of this programme and thought "Nowt special/didn't learn anything" and wont bother to watch again.

Re food - and I make it a rule to try out a wide range of foods and drinks and new ways with familiar foods. My personal favourite is Middle Eastern food.

Dinner tonight is very "British" though - as I've recently bought a 1960s cookbook and decided to do a recipe from there (ie because the recipes in 60s and 70s cookbooks are so cheap compared to more modern ones). So eating something like cauliflower and egg au gratin counterbalances a meal where I have half a dozen expensive modern ingredients in it.

JIL

Tony Blackburn's episode made me smile, he doesn't really like food. Eats the same thing all the time.

moneyistooshorttomention

JIL wrote: »

Tony Blackburn's episode made me smile, he doesn't really like food. Eats the same thing all the time.

Wouldn't want him as a partner then....and he probably sticks to just one thing in every respect...ahem;)

Whoops...I'll get me coat....:rotfl: