St George's Day beer and food matching: A true taste of England
Simple English pub food served with a great English pint - there's no better way to celebrate St George's Day.
We asked Matthew O'Keefe, owner of Buckinghamshire pub the Royal Standard of England - named Freehouse of the Year and Pub of the Year at the Publican Awards 2009 - to suggest a suitably patriotic beer and food matching menu.
Starter: Cheese on toast
Ah! The hard cheese of England, much copied around the world. Only the English can cook toast properly and combined with melted cheese - what a dish. Should the cheese be Cheshire or Lancashire?
Ben Gunn in Treasure Island asks for melted cheese on toast - a "Leigh Toaster" - after being rescued from his years marooned on an island. Lancashire cheese made in Leigh, Manchester, is still one of the best toasting cheeses.
Cheshire cheese was said to be produced by the Romans and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. From 1739, Cheshire cheese was the cheese bought for consumption by the Royal Navy.
Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire cheese on toast with a splash of Worcester Sauce and a spreading of English mustard is heaven. It should be matched with any local cask ale below 4.1 per cent ABV so it still has a bitter finish to cut into the cheese oils.
A national ale to choose is Draught Bass. It works with cheese and has the first and oldest registered trademark No.1 - that's a beer fact.
Main Course: Fish and chips
Fish and chips is the biggest selling dish at the Royal Standard of England - it's at the top of our food culture and history. This is what England eats, simple with no twist. Brewed malt vinegar goes with it - and originally that would have been made with sour beer.
Bottle conditioned ale is what the old boys used to drink years ago before lager when they wanted a cooler beer than ale.
Worthington White Shield is still really good and is hoppy enough to even cut through a pickled onion and the malt vinegar. The accompaniment has to be mushy peas, which harks back to the medieval food of the people.
Dessert: Apple crumble and custard
The apple is the fruit of England. We grow more varieties in England than anywhere else in the world - nurturing the old, rare varieties is seen as eccentric and independent. Apple crumble and custard translates as le crumble avec crème Anglais in French.
Barley wine is the match here, being sweeter to complement the sweetness of the topping and custard. And of course, barley wine was invented in the 18th century to annoy Napoleon after he cut off supplies of wine from France.
Whitbread Gold Label is the best known and widely available, or find one from your local craft brewer.
