It's an old joke that English food is unhealthy and if you visit England you'll come back weighing pounds heavier because everything's cooked in grease. Unfortunately many people think of this as fact, and the truth is that a short while ago there was little defense against this kind of verbal attack on English cuisine.
The company employs 14 full-time and expands as individual projects demand. "We've had no weird requests for Komodo dragons or anything like that," he said. But we just got two contracts to provide lunches for two camps: one in Westchester and one on the Westchester-Putnam border."At the other end of the social scale, afternoon tea at the Ritz may be out of your budget range, but there are many smaller establishments that will offer sandwiches and cakes served with tea or coffee. Of course strawberries and cream are the ultimate in English summer food!It could be a good time to be in the barbecue business, which Crystal Spoons runs as its Westchester Picnic Co. (The company also handles institutional and contract food services under the Crystal Spoon moniker and home-delivered gourmet meals under its Top Chef Meals banner.)When it's all added up, Ghiron said his business is off about 20 percent from pre-recession highs and he "calls that a bellwether of overall business in the region: "Handling weddings and bar mitzvahs and the like is different. People are going to do them no matter what - they're going to get married or have the bar mitzvah - even if they scale back. But businesses do these events more by choice, so I think we're a very good barometer for business activity," he said.Don't listen to the age-weary jokes. English food has changed for the better. Try it for yourself!Crystal Spoon will customize just about any food: "We catered a hospital bariatric unit" - which deals with obesity - "for an anniversary event," Ghiron said. "Everyone wanted to support their method and their mission, so we presented low-carb foods, extensive hors d'oeuvres. They were very specific to do it that way."Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital hosted its most-recent employee barbecue at Byram Shore Park. In the Hudson Valley, a Middletown corporation also contracted for a barbecue, although as Ghiron noted, "As we go up into the Hudson Valley - into Putnam and Dutchess - we see a larger percentage of business in private homes - it's maybe 50-50 up there and more tilted toward the corporate farther south."Visiting England you will find many restaurants offering a menu from different parts of the world, cooked by natives of that country. Italian restaurants in particular offer a taste of Italy in even the most modest of cities. Indian and Chinese restaurants are everywhere and offer good meals at a budget cost. Fast food outlets from around the world compete alongside sushi bars for lunch-time trade in much the same way as they do in other major cities around the world.One place you will find traditional English food however is in the local pub. Many pubs now serve meals, especially at lunch time. Here, especially on Sundays, you will be able to experience a traditional English meal of sliced roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and all the trimmings. The quality of food served will differ greatly from pub to pub, but the menu is usually the same.
Don't listen to the age-weary jokes. English food has changed for the better. Try it for yourself!
Author: Sue Marchant
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