5. United Kingdom
Scoring highly in both number of Michelin-starred restaurants as well as food hygiene and diversity, the UK marks the halfway point of our list of the 10 best food countries in Europe. Owing to its cultural history with settlers from all over the world, the UK has a diverse range of influences on its gastronomy. Perhaps best summarized by the Anglo-Indian ‘fusion’ dish chicken tikka masala, the over-riding feature of modern UK cooking must be the union of flavours. That’s not to say local traditions have been eliminated, though; anyone who has a roast Sunday lunch can expect to have it served with a Yorkshire pudding (although in parts of the country, it is served as a starter and covered with lashings of gravy). Other dishes particular to the United Kingdom include the Scottish tradition of haggis (a sheep’s stomach stuffed with its diced liver, lungs and heart; it’s nicer than it sounds), Welsh lamb stew with leeks, and the Ulster Fry – a variant on a traditional fried breakfast, featuring traditional northern Irish soda bread and a potato farl.
