Kate_Canuck

While I had some mediocre meals in the year I lived in the UK, I certainly wouldn't rank it as the worst country for food in the world. I would rank it as the worst in terms of value for money - there are some excellent restaurants there but I always found that at whatever price point at which I was eating, I always thought "this isn't worth what I'm paying". The same was true for food I bought in grocery stores to cook.

Best food - it's hard to choose but I'd rank Singapore, France (for the quality of ingredients but not necessarily for restaurant meals) and Toronto, Canada (multi-cultural mecca) at the top of the list. Turkey is a close second.

I'd rank Morocco down the list - while we had a few great meals in Marrakech in Essaouira, we had a lot of mediocre fare while hiking in the mountains.

Showbizguru

I often find it's wise to do a little basic research before making an asservtive statement regarding UK cuisine being the worst in the world.
Here's a link to give you some guidance on the UK's Michelin-rated restaurants.
http://www.caterersearch.com/Article...staurants.html

I'd also mention some of the country's best chefs but I'd be here all day so I'll just throw in Gordon Ramsay,Marco Pierre White,Heston Blumenthal,Tom Aiken,Nick Nairn ...

LapLap

A little research would have helped most people who reported bad experiences to have avoided those bad experiences in the first place.

The thread title is "Which country has the best/worst food that you have eaten?"

It's a real shame that people regard the food they have eaten in the UK as being the worst they've ever had, but there's no point in arguing with it. Hopefully, should they ever visit Great Britain again they can visit FT's UK forum and make some basic enquiries so that they don't replicate their woeful dining choices.

Kate_Canuck's comment about food in the UK offering poor value for money is one I can easily understand and relate to (even though I am, thankfully, aware of quite a few exceptions).

aa4ever

Best: France, Japan, Italy

Worst: Mainland China. This does not mean it was all bad, but a lot of it had some serious problems from my view (fatty, oily, greasy and with MSG. Man Wah at the MO HK was amazing, though, and I do like Chinese food when I find it well prepared).

I should say though that I generally prefer very modern Western food (i.e. Pierre Gagnaire). I hate fat (i.e. on meat) and am sensitive to MSG.

kboo

Best:
France, Japan, Italy, Turkey, Hong Kong, Thailand

Worst:
Mainland China in the early 90's - outside of Beijing or Shanghai. Goopy sauces and mystery meat.

Generally one can find good food - even in the local cuisine - most anywhere, you just have to be willing to look for it and/or pay a lot for it.

In defense of "UK food," I had the most amazing prime rib* at The Rib Room in London even though it cost about 3x what one would pay in the U.S. Also, I had some of the freshest seafood at a restaurant in Oban, Scotland. We asked the waiter where the various fish and shellfish had come from, and he pointed to the harbor and said, "Therrrre..."

*I'm not really a big meat-and-potatoes eater, but I would say this was the best "roast beef" I have ever had in my life, and worth the $$$$$ price.