Yorkshire pudding, fish and chips, haggis, beef wellington, and Cornish pasties come to mind whenever we think about British food. However, there are more selections than those mentioned as the British people are exposed to an array of food and related activities, some influenced by multi-culture groups who have settled in the country.

Gary Rhodes OBE known by his colleagues in Great Britain as the chef’s chef is an author, restaurateur and TV personality who reintroduced the country to its rich gastronomic heritage.

We were fortunate to see this Michelin-starred chef and an ambassador for British cuisine in action for an afternoon coking demo at The Dharmawangsa in Jakarta. He had been busy as his trip in Indonesia was for a 3-day Great Britain Food and Drink Festival. Gary, however, managed to visit Pasar Santa, a hip traditional market in Jakarta.

In the cooking demo Gary was joined by Executive Chef Budisetiawan of The Dharmawangsa in preparing 2-courses exquisite British delicacies: salmon with fennel and sambal kecombrang, and raspberry clafoutis. Note how he introduced kecombrang (torch ginger) an Indonesian ingredient in a classic British food.

Having authored 23 cookbooks and appeared in TV shows such as Rhodes Around Britain, Rhodes Across China, Master Chef, Hell’s Kitchen and The Great British Food Revival, Gary is a great communicator. He managed the flow of entertaining the audience while preparing great food. It was truly an enjoyable and informative afternoon cooking demo.

Apparently, in Britain food is not purely for enjoyment. What makes us crave for food is under investigation by scientists. The science aspects behind food craving were on display at the Science Museum in London from 12 February 2015 to 26 January 2016. A colorful and interactive exhibition describes how the food you eat affects your body, brain and eating-habits.

Visitors to the museum will be intrigued with the question: Did you know you have a second brain in your gut? Scientific research has proven that cravings reveals the inner workings of our brain, gut brain, gut bacteria, and how all three work to regulate our eating habits.

According to Glenn Gibson, a food microbiology expert at Reading University, depending on what you eat, your gut bacteria can produce signals that make you hungry or full, release the food faster or slower, and even crave certain foods. To understand this craving subject, visitors can see an artificial gut whirring away, take part in a real experiment on flavor perception, discover unconventional dining utensils designed by scientists and chefs to trick our sense of taste and find out if scientists think we ‘eat with our eyes’ and if we can be ‘addicted’ to food.

Britain embraces ethnics, including food and drink, with open arms, and there is no better place to see this than in Camden Markets, a vibrant group of markets in North London. As one of the most-visited tourist destinations, the area is adorned with hundreds of designer workshops, studios, shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and international food stalls.

The Camden Markets attract 500,000 visitors each week crowding the Camden Lock Market, Camden Stables Market, Camden Canal Market, Inverness Street Market, and Camden (Buck Street) Market. It was raining when we arrived but visitors flocked to the area often visited by designers such as John Galliano, Dolce and Gabbana, John Paul Gaultier, Giorgio Armani, Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo.

The Global Kitchen at Camden Lock Market has gained fame due to its selection of mouthwatering street foods from around the world at affordable prices. Among the traders which street foods that temped us were Limena Peruvian Food, Ethiopian Fresh Food, Turkish Wraps, Asador Argentine Grill, Falafel Time, Sushi Roll & Kimbab, and Dutch Pancakes. There were also mainstream street foods such as Oliver’s Fish and Chips, The Deli Truck, and The Mac Factory.

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Images: Omar Niode Foundation