food culture

The article, based on materials from international, colonial and national exhibitions in London, examines the culinary preferences of the British, their habits of preparing and consuming food in the last third of the 19th — early 20th centuries. At that time, visiting exhibitions, in the organization of which Britain had the most advanced experience, was a popular pastime for Londoners and tourists and necessarily included a “culinary program”. At the exhibitions of the turn of the century, visitors could try dishes prepared from colonial products, buy oriental spices, alcoholic beverages, fruits and various exotic delicacies. A large selection of restaurants, coffee shops and inexpensive eateries were offered to the exhibition guests. This factor among others contributed to the consolidation of the habit of eating in public places for people of different classes. The educational program of the exhibitions included educational master classes and lectures on healthy eating, foreign, including native, cuisine. It is concluded that the exhibitions were effective advertisements for new food products, the delivery of which to Europe was made possible by progress in transport and storage technologies. In a practical sense, this contributed to the development of intra-imperial trade. At the same time, the new gastronomic experience gained at the exhibitions contributed to the interpenetration of European and Eastern culinary traditions, which, to a certain extent, helped ordinary people better understand the lifestyle, customs and mentality of “the other”.