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7a - A Question of Priorities - Cream Teas There are two types of “cream tea”; one from Devon(shire) and the other from Cornwall, adjacent counties in south-west England. There are crucially important differences between the two. Cream Tea - Scones, Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam Devon or Devonshire Cream Teas consist of scones which are sliced horizontally in half, then spread with clotted cream and strawberry jam, served with a cup of tea. Cornish Cream Teas consist of scones which are sliced horizontally in half, then spread with clotted cream and strawberry jam, served with a cup of tea. Clear? No? Well, the difference lies in which do you spread first, the cream or jam? Devon favours first topping your scones with cream (no butter is used) then adding the jam on top of the cream. Cream Tea in the Devon Way Cornwall favours first topping your scones with jam (no butter is used) then adding the cream on top of the jam. Get this wrong and you will live forever in ignominy. In fact, people in both counties use either method. I prefer the Devon way except for when I prefer the Cornish way. The image above of the Devon way was actually taken in Cornwall! Although these teas are now served as part of “afternoon teas” as described above, they are more traditionally served on their own – scones, cream and strawberry jam; no sandwiches or other items. This is how they are served in the relevant counties to this day. So, I hear you ask, “what is clotted cream?” Fans of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings should know – it’s one of the Hobbit’s staple foods. Cow’s milk is heated indirectly by steam, then left to cool causing the cream content to float to the top in clots (or clouts). This is skimmed off and left to drain. It then forms a crust on top. Cornwall clotted cream has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status within the EU. Clotted Cream Clotted cream is made in other counties of south-west England and elsewhere and cream teas are served all over the UK, but Devon and Cornwall serve the cream of cream teas. It is unclear which county came up with clotted cream (or cream teas) first, but whichever, it was certainly a long time ago that clotted cream arrived. The English poet, Edmund Spenser, a contemporary of Shakespeare mention it in his poem, The Shepheardes Calender, published in 1579, but written earlier. This dish I really do recommend. Image Credits Cream Tea - Scones, Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam - by Liyster; Licenced under CC BY 3.0 Cream Tea in the Devon Way - by Tuxraider; Licenced under CC BY 3.0 Clotted Cream - by Biggishben - Licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0

7. Time for Tea, Your Grace Having breakfasted on a full-English breakfast, had a lunch of bangers and mash or pie and mash, you’d think our intrepid YouTubers might slow down. Not a bit of it! There is another cliché yet to be explored. We’re off for “afternoon tea”, no less, as all right-thinking British people do every day. Except they don’t. Afternoon tea originated among the highest echelons of the aristocracy in the 1840s. Anna, Duchess of Bedford (1783- 1857) was a close friend of Queen Victoria. In those days, lunch was a fairly light affair at noon and dinner not usually served until as late as 8pm. Her Grace, unsurprisingly, got a bit peckish around 4 pm and one day ordered her servants to bring her a cup of tea, some bread and butter and some cake. Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford Tea had been drunk in England since the 1660s after being popularised by Charles II and his wife, but it was Anna who turned “tea” into a mini-meal. She then took to inviting her lady friends to join her for “tea” and the whole concept became a social event. This was copied by all the idle rich, aristocratic women of the time, becoming an institution among that class. Gradually, by the 1880s the practice of taking afternoon tea had slipped down the social scale to the non-aristocratic upper class women, who would dress up in their best glad-rags, complete with long dresses, hats and gloves to gossip among themselves while elegantly downing petite sandwiches and cakes, along with a cup of tea, taking turns to host the events in the drawing rooms of England around 4-5 pm. And there it largely stuck. The middle classes rarely indulged in inviting friends to “take tea” and the working classes never did – they were too busy trying to survive by working for those above them! The habit of the afternoon tea in one’s drawing room pretty much died out after WW1 as the aristocracy went into decline and servants became fewer and fewer. The middle classes continued to maybe have a light bite and a cuppa sometime in the afternoon, but not in any formal way. Today, with more women working than in former times, the practice is all but dead. It lasted in the traditional form for less than 100 years. However, it continues in some restaurants, especially those in hotels. And this is where the YouTube army go. Few go to the great hotels such as the Ritz or the Savoy, both in London, where the privilege of sitting in their grand tearooms while nibbling daintily at a few cakes and sipping on a tea will set you back a minimum of a cool ₤55* ($78 USD) in the Ritz per person or ₤65 ($92)in the Savoy. Plus service charges. You aren’t really paying for the mini-meal, but paying rent! The Ritz Afternoon Tea Menu is here (PDF) The Savoy Afternoon Tea menu is here. Tea at the Ritz The famous luxury London department store, Harrods also serves afternoon tea (menu here), price-wise dropping in mid way between those two hotels, at ₤59 ($83.50)*. These prices, of course, don’t include the glass (or bottle) of champagne usually offered alongside. YouTubers making their latest Oscar winners would not be welcome in any of the above venues. Also, all the above have strict dress codes. One of the cheaper options I’ve found in London is in this hotel near the British Museum (and near my London home) where the tea comes in at a mere ₤10.95 ($15.50) per person. This is not necessarily a recommendation – I’ve never eaten afternoon tea in my life and, although I know the hotel, I’ve never stepped inside. This website covers around 700 of the UK’s afternoon tea venues, searchable by location. Although I have never taken part in an afternoon tea, I have eaten pretty much everything on their menus – there are few surprises. Of course the menu contents vary by price, although most include the almost obligatory cucumber sandwiches. Today many also include Devon or Cornwall scones with clotted cream and jam. This, however, is not traditional and is a recent trend. These are more correctly a separate experience known as Devon or Cornwall cream teas which I have eaten (see below). So. it seems that afternoon teas are mainly eaten by visitors who may have seen too much Downton Abbey and the like. I have never heard of any of my social circle in London partaking in such a thing. Today people may have a 15 minute tea break in the afternoon, at work, but this will usually be a biscuit (cookie) and a mug of tea made by dunking a tea bag in the mug! No silver service or champagne. * due to rise to ₤60 in October 2021 Image Credits Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford - Public Domain Tea at the Ritz - Herry Lawford; licenced under CC BY 2.0

Well that rather proves my point, doesn't it? These YouTube pests lining up to film something few people have heard of! That said, I think most London natives would know what "pie and mash" referred to, even if they have never actually eaten it. Same with 'eel shops". I knew what pie, mash and eel shops were and even walked past some of the few that remain decades before I ever entered one. And most native Londoners would immediately associate "pie and mash" with just such an establishment. As to pie consumption in general, I deliberately went out of my way to say that pies were a staple of British cuisine, so I'm baffled as to how that could be miscontrued as me claiming the British don't eat pies or that pies are "an obscure eccentricity". I was brought up eating pies regularly!

Today's haul: Picked this morning from my friend's trees.

I have a torch I use when cooking, but there is no way it can give wok hei! That only comes from a wok, well seasoned from contiuous daily use over a long period of time. But I've said many times before,wok hei is a concept only Americans seem to obsess about. Most Chinese cooks aren't interested.

I think you need to re-read what I actually wrote. At no stage did I say that British people don't eat pies. I said the opposite. I did say that few people have eaten the traditional dish of pie and mash with parsley liquor, almost exclusively found in London, although most people there haven't eaten it either. I lived in London for 20 years and never ate it once, not did I know anyone who ever mentioned eating it. My late wife was a Londoner, born and bred, and never once ate it, although she certainly ate and made pies. I've made steak and kidney pies here in China when I got nostalgic. I only finally ate pie, mash and liquor on a visit to England in 2001 when a friend here in China asked what it was like, so I obliged her by going to find out.

A bit uninspred this evening, but it did its job. Chicken breast in spicy breading, plain boiled potatoes and tomatoes. Afrer taking the photograph, I did add some piri-piri sauce for extra heat and lubrication. Followed by the last of my durian.

May I gently point out that Ireland is now and never has been Britain? It also has a great food culture, though! And it isn't the stuff everyone elsewhere eats to celebrate a green saint, who wasn't even Irish!

I'd forgotten that clip. Thanks. Of course, what he was saying wasn't exactly true even then. Under current regulations sausages labelled pork sausage (or any other named meat) must contain an absolute minimum of 42% of that meat. Most contain much more. Sausages labelled "sausages" without mentioning any specific meat can go as low as 32% - avoid them. In both cases, it must be actual flesh and not that list which Hacker recites, including all the detritus of butchery. I haven't eaten ćevapi since the mid-1980s. That was in Vienna, Austria.

6. π and Mash Talking of mash leads me straight on to YouTube’s next top British food destination, to sample a “hugely popular dish” that the vast majority of British people have never eaten and which is becoming more and more rare. But first a bit of history. Pies have been a British staple for centuries, probably introduced by the Romans who had learned the art of pie-making from the Greeks. One of the earliest known English language cookbooks “The Forme of Cury”, published around 1390, gives recipes for pies, including these “Crustardes of Flessh” meaning meat pies – in this case spiced pigeon, chicken and “small bird” pies. There are also recipes for pork pies and fish pies. Fruit pies didn’t appear for another 200 years, in the reign of Elizabeth I. Note: “Cury” has nothing to do with the "Indian" dish, curry. ‘’Cury" is a Middle English version of “cookery” and could also refer to “cooked dishes”. The Forme of Cury can be read online or downloaded as a free e-book in all popular formats, here. By the 16th century, pies were popular with everyone from the poor agricultural workers who could carry them to the fields for lunch, all the way up to royalty who enjoyed ever more outlandish creations. Sing a song of six-pence, a pocket full of rye Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. Now wasn’t that a tasty dish to set before the king! This is not some bizarre fantasy, but a record of a real dish. Epulario, or The Italian banquet, an Italian cookbook by Giovanne De Rosselli, from 1598, gives a recipe. An English translation of Upularia can be read online here or is available in paperback form on Amazon here (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). In the mid to late 18th century, itinerant pie men wandered the streets of London and other major cities selling their beef, mutton or eel pies. They also visited fairs and other outdoor events. Not all their customers were called Simon or were simple. Simple Simon met a pie man Going to the fair; Says Simple Simon to the pie man, Let me taste your ware. The origins of this rhyme are obscure, but it is generally dated to the 17th century. At the peak of this pie trade, there were estimated to be some 600 pie men in London alone; but by the mid 19th century only around 50 remained and their time was soon to be up. Throughout the 18th and particularly 19th centuries, more and more successful pie men started opening small shops to sell their pies. With permanent premises came better hygiene and consistency of products. The shops selling pies to be taken away soon also offered seating. Most were quite simple places, still catering to the working classes, but some were more upmarket, such as the one below. Pie House, a popular tavern and tea garden in Harringay, north London, 18th century. Public Domain image. Many of these pie shops in London also began serving stewed eels. Or eel shops also started selling pies. The River Thames was, at that time, a major source of European eels, providing another cheap but nutritious protein to supplement the pies. The eels were generally stewed and served hot until it was noticed that, if left to cool down, the cooking liquid turned to jelly, eels being high in collagen. So, the shops started selling both stewed eels and jellied eels. Jellied eels. Image by JanesDaddy; licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0 By the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, pollution had emptied the Thames of eels and they had to be imported, mainly from Holland. This, of course, raised the price out of reach of the poorer classes. In the 1960s, the river was cleaned up and, although eels did return, not in the quantities seen in the past. Meanwhile, overfishing elsewhere had severely endangered supplies. Although jellied eels are still available, they are no longer cheap and many conservationists etc. advise against eating them. They are normally served with either chili-infused vinegar or plain. The oldest surviving pie, mash and eel shop in London today is Manze’s from 1902. Michele Manze (1875-1932) was a three-year-old when his family emigrated from Italy hoping to improve their lives. They first made a living selling ice cream then went on to making ice cream to be sold by others. In 1902, wishing to expand business and be independent, Michele, now in his 20s, shortly after marrying, opened a shop selling pies, like so many before him. That shop survived as do two others he opened (out of a total of five - the other two were bombed out in WWII). Michele’s brothers also opened similar shops and by 1930 there were 14 Manze shops in London. Most have now gone, but Michele’s original remains, now run by his great-grand-daughter. Manze's Pie and Mash, 2008. I mage by Kake ; licenced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Today, the number of pie and eels shops is a fraction of what it was in the past. Nearly all are in east and south London. Their menus are usually small. Pie and mash, stewed or Jellied eels and that’s it! So let’s look and pie and mash. This consists of an individual meat pie containing minced beef. The pie is made with two types of pastry. A cold-water suet pastry forms the shell containing the filling and the lid can be either a shortcrust pastry or rough puff pastry. It is served with mashed potatoes. Manze's Pie and Mash with Liquor. Image by Kake; licenced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) The pies are served with a thin parsley sauce, known as liquor. This does not mean it contains alcohol; “liquor” here is being used in one of its older meanings. The traditional recipe for the sauce used the water in which the eels were cooked, but this is rare now. The liquor is coloured bright green by the parsley, giving it what many describe as an odd appearance. So the YouTubeing half-wits roll up to sample this delight. Judging by their faces, few enjoy it but they nearly all declare it to be wonderful!. It isn’t wonderful. It was never designed to be wonderful! It was poverty food, a cheap and simple way to fill yourself with something reasonably nutritious. But not bland. I have eaten it – once. It was OK, but I never went back. Jellied eels don’t do it for me – I’m not a jelly fan. But the hot stewed type were pleasant. It is very noticeable that almost none of the YouTube brigade ever try the eels and I strongly suspect that has nothing to do with ecological concerns.

There are a very few others, but the Lorne is the most well-known.

I never bake anything but bread. I only use buttermilk in my favourite soda bread recipe.

While I agree they can be used interchangeably, I can taste the difference. Often, it doesn't matter, but sometimes it does more so.

Normal in the UK. Probably a statutory requirement.

No. But to make buttermilk, just squeeze some lemon juice into some fresh milk and 15 minutes later you have buttermilk.

Absolutely! Every time I've made paella, which I haven't done for many years, I've used bomba rice. Because it's what I always saw being used in Spain.

A little off topic, but @mgaretz did specify a 'black taxi'. To be licenced as a 'black cab' driver, you have to pass a highly demanding examination - the toughest licencing system in the world for taxis. It normally takes three years to study for it - equivalent to a university degree course. Basically, candidates have to memorise 32 routes within London and know all the "streets, squares, clubs, hospitals, hotels, theatres, embassies, government and public buildings, railway stations, police stations, courts, diplomatic buildings, important places of worship, cemeteries, crematoria, parks and open spaces, sports and leisure centres, places of learning, restaurants and historic buildings" within a 1/2 mile of each of those routes. I'd say the chances of any licenced black taxi driver not knowing what 'bangers and mash' are is electron-microscope-requiringly miniscule, irrespective of their original nationality. (Bolding of 'restaurants' by me, in a desperate attempt to include something culinary! List from Wikipedia here.)

I do that, too. Use the "oatcrumbs" to make a crusting for fish then baking or frying it. It's a traditional way to do herring in Scotland. I can't get herring here, but I've used it successfully with other fish. Never had to deal with 10 lbs, though. Might work with whale!

Durian - an open and shut case.

5. Sossidges In the 1970s (and later) in Britain, one of the most popular television shows, broadcast on a weekend evening, was “That’s Life” hosted by one Esther Rantzen. It started out as a consumer protection show, challenging semi-legal or dishonest practices in stores etc., but soon changed into a general light entertainment show – and when I say “light”, I mean feather-light. The episode most people remember featured a talking dog named Prince, which was claimed to be able to say “sausages”! This went viral as we never said then, and to this day, British people of a certain age often pronounce “sausages” as the dog supposedly did. The fact that the dog’s owner was manipulating the mutt’s mouth and throat and very obviously using ventriloquism didn’t bother anyone! Prince was able to “say” a few other words, but, significantly, it was sausages that struck a chord with the British people, so important are they in British cuisine (as they are in many others). So, it is no surprise that the asinine YouTubers have to include sausages in their must-see list of what to eat in the UK. That sausages are included in the full breakfasts discussed above isn’t enough for them, because in their deluded minds sausages are what the British live on! We eat little else! There is no denying that we eat a lot of sausages, but what these people want to eat is that classic “Bangers and Mash”. So, off they all go like 19th century explorers to discover exactly the same places that every other of the breed has already found. What they don’t realise as they rhapsodise over their lunch is that most of them aren’t eating “bangers and mash”, at all! I lived in Moscow in the latter days of the Soviet Union, when food was very scarce and what was available was very poor quality. Cabbage and gristle stew was the mainstay, unless you were a top ranking communist or a pampered foreigner. I’ve mentioned this in detail here. Several years later, long after the USSR collapsed and food supplies were again available normally, a fashion arose among a certain segment of the Muscovite population. Restaurants opened specialising in cabbage and gristle and became briefly popular! This reminds me of the YouTubers seeking out war-time food which most people hated at the time. “Bangers” were made out of the sweepings of the abattoir floors mixed with cereal and water, causing them to explode when cooked, hence the name. Cheap and nasty. Apart from the fact that they would probably be illegal now, standards have risen and, although the British still love a sausage, they want something non-explosive. Supermarkets now all sell what they call “premium sausages”, or something similar, while their regular sausages are what the WWII housewife could only dream of.. And although there are many cafés and pubs offering “bangers and mash” on their menus, the sausages are a lot better than war-time bangers. In fact, it is actually more common now to see the dish described as “sausages and mash”. Any café selling real “bangers” wouldn’t last the week. So, what is the dish “bangers and mash? Simply, fried sausages served with mashed potato and an onion gravy. This is a simple, filling dish which is easy for the café or pub to prepare in large quantities. The sausages today will range from decently well made and seasoned to specialist artisan sausages. And not all sausages are served with mash. 25 years ago, I regularly ate lunch in this pub near London University, where I worked. In fact, I ate there the day before I left for China. Here is the menu from that day - it changed regularly. Also, in 2019, I ate this traditional London sausage from a street food stall. Delicious. For those wishing to taste real, traditional, regional sausages (and some newbies) made by real human beings here is a round up up some of the best types. Cumberland Probably the best known traditional sausage is the Cumberland sausage. This has been around for about 500 years and is noted for its special shape. Rather than being formed into links, it is usually one long sausage, coiled into a spiral. In 2011, the “Traditional Cumberland Sausage”, to give it its official name was awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, meaning its specifications and area of production are legally protected.. Cumberland sausage consists of coarsely minced pork, seasoned with black pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, thyme and sage (we don’t use herbs and spices?). The meat content is a minimum 85%, often higher. But the word to look for is that “Traditional”. Some supermarkets do sell mass-produced Cumberland sausage without that word and meat content can fall as low as 45%. Without “Traditional”, there is no protection. Image by Andy / Andrew Fogg; licenced under CC BY 2.0 Lincolnshire Lincoln sausages are also made with coarsely chopped pork and breadcrumbs / rusk, but this time flavoured with sage, pepper and onion. Minimum meat content is 70% and natural casings are used. Sulphite is is usually added as a preservative (450 ppm maximum). Image by Chris Mear; licenced under CC BY 2.0 Oxford Oxford sausages date back to the 18th century. The John Nott’s sausages in the menu I show above are a type of Oxford sausage made from a recipe on page 488 of his book, “The Cook's and Confectioner's Dictionary: Or, the Accomplish'd Housewife's Companion” (link to digitised edition), published in 1723 (not 1720 as the menu claims). However, they were truly popularised by being included in Mrs Beeton’s “Book of Household Management” (link to downloadable version, recipe on page 837) published in 1861. John Nott's recipe for Oxford Sausages Unusually, the Oxford sausages are traditionally made from a 50:50 mixture of pork and veal and are highly spiced with pepper, cloves, mace, sage, and nutmeg and flavoured with lemon and herbs. In recent years, their has been a movement against veal by the animal rights mob, so some makers, though thankfully not all, are substituting lamb or going for 100% pork. Image by Kaihsu Tai; licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0 Newmarket Newmarket pork sausages are, surprisingly, from the horse-racing town of Newmarket in Suffolk, England. Their are two varieties, each made by a different Newmarket family. In 2012, the two were awarded joint PGI protection. Image by Allexbrn; licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0 Manchester Manchester sausages are made from pork, traditionally flavoured with white pepper, mace, cloves, ginger, sage, basil and nutmeg. Marylebone The Marylebone sausage is named for Marylebone, an area in north-central London. They are seasoned with mace, ginger and sage. Gloucester Traditionally, Gloucester sausages are made using pork from the rare-breed pig, Gloucester Old Spot and are flavoured with sage. In 2010, the Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders' Club was awarded Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status by the EU, meaning that pork labelled as Old Spot, must be the real deal. Lorne Sausage This might be stretching the definition of sausage a step too far for some, but in Scotland, we are proud of our beloved Lorne sausage (even if we rarely call it that). It is made with beef and spiced with black pepper, nutmeg and coriander seed. Unlike most sausages it is not cased in intestines, natural or synthetic, but pressed into a square shape and chilled. It is then cut into square slices. So, in most of Scotland, it is referred to as “square sausage”. Square sausage is usually used as part of a full-Scottish breakfast, but also (my favourite) often served sliced in a bread roll with ketchup or brown sauce. Its shape and size make it a perfect fit. There is a fascinating article here giving the history of the Lorne sausage and the origin of its name (plus a recipe). Public domain image Black Pudding Many countries have their versions of blood sausage and black pudding is the British one. Well, actually at least two. Scottish and English are slightly different. The name “black pudding” causes some confusion. It shouldn’t. The original meaning of “pudding” was Today, the word retains its original meaning mainly in Scotland and Northern England. Black pudding meaning a “kind of sausage made of blood and suet, sometimes with the addition of flour or meal” appeared in the early 16th century. Both are made with pig’s blood and oatmeal, but the English variety contains large lumps of fat. It is also spiced. Scottish black pudding does contain fat, but it is finely ground and seldom visible. English black pudding is spiced (see recipe below), whereas Scottish is not, leaving the natural flavours to dominate. Opinion varies as to which is the better, with participants in the discussion split mostly by region of birth. I prefer the Scottish version, not for any puerile nationalism or prejudice, but because it is clearly better! Stornoway black pudding, from the capital of the Outer Hebrides island of Lewis and Harris in Scotland’s far-west, has PGI status and is widely considered the best of the Scottish type. Image by me. There are many other British sausages. Pork and apple is a favourite and I regularly ate venison sausages from this man's farm shop. Most European sausages are also easily available in supermarkets. The best place for British sausages, however, remains good old traditional butchers'shops. Sadly, a dying breed. If you roll into a British café today, unless you are very unlucky, you are not going to be met by a plate of congealing fat and detonating pink slime. You are more likely to find something like this. Enjoy!

Although it rarely reached 40℃ in Scotland, 30℃ was possible in summer and the same thing happened. Every week, two pupils were designated "milk monitors". Although many of my classmates were happy to get out of class, I hated to be chosen for this task. We had to colect the stinking milk from where it was sitting in the sun behind the school canteen. We had to carry the crates and visit each classroom and dole out a bottle to each kid. The crates were heavy and cut your hands and the stink of rotten milk had me gagging the whole time. It marked me for life. I've never drunk milk since. I like cheese (even the smelly ones) and good yoghurt (usually home made), but that is my total dairy intake. I drink my coffee black.

Beef and Brussel Sprouts à la Chinoise. Beef marinated with garlic, ginger, chilies, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and potato starch. Brussel sprouts (already quite small) were halved, blanched then drained and left to dry. Stir fried the sprouts for a couple of minutes then added the beef. Continued to stir fry until the beef was done, then added the marinade and a little oyster sauce. Served with rice.

I think that is true anywhere in the world. It has nothing specifically to do with Britain. Not all home cooks, wherever they are, are brilliant at what they do. Some aren't interested and cooking is just an unwelcome but necessary chore. Many people just see food as fuel. Members here mostly live to eat; most people do the opposite. Others are just incompetent or inexperienced. I have a good friend here in China who appreciates good food, but simply cannot cook it. My mother, who was French, was the same. I've had dull cooking in homes all over the world, including India.

Well, as one old person, I can recommend a 30 cm (just short of 12 inch) cast iron wok. These seem to be the smallest on offer here. And smaller woks work just fine! They have the benefit of being lighter. I still use 34 cm woks, but as the years go past, it's becoming more difficult to life and toss the things.

No. I'm not qualified. It's over 40 years since I lived in France and over 20 since I last visited. I have mentioned that I have eaten some awful food in France, though. However, the best is excellent and ruinously expensive, while cheaper, more simple places can sometimes surprise. In good or bad ways!