Meals in Bretain

A traditional English breakfast is a very big meal – sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms … But nowadays many people just have cereal with milk and sugar, or toast with marmalade, jam, or honey.

Marmalade and jam are not the same! Marmalade is made from oranges and jam is made from other fruit.

The traditional breakfast drink is tea. People usually drink it with cold milk. Some people have coffee, often instant coffee. Many visitors to Britain find this coffee disgusting!

For many people lunch is a quick meal.

In cities there are a lot of sandwich bars, where office workers can chose the kind of bread they want – brown, white or a roll – and then all sorts of salad and meat or fish to go in the sandwich.

Pubs often serve good, cheap food, both hot and cold.

School-children can have a hot meal at school, but many just take a snack from home – a sandwich, a drink, some fruit, and perhaps some crisps.

« Tea » means two things: it is a drink and a meal! Some people have afernoon tea, with sandwiches, cakes, and, of course, a cup of tea. Cream teas are popular. You have scones (a sort of cake) with cream and jam.

The evening meal is the main meal of the day for many people. They usually have it quite early, between 6.00 and 8.00 pm, and often the whole family eats together.

On sundays many families have a traditional lunch. They have roast meat; beef, lamb, chicken, or pork, with potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. Gravy is a sauce made from the meat juices.

The British like food from other countries, too, especially Italian, French, Chinese, and Indian. People often get « take-away meals » – you buy the food at the restaurant and then bring it home to eat. Eating in Britain is quite international!

nowadays : de nos jours

the main meal : le reaps principal

a roll : un petit pain rond

the whole family : toute la famille