Thankfully gone are the days when Britain was considered a nation of philistines when it comes to cuisine.

We are much more discerning in our tastes than a generation ago.  One only has to look at the supermarket shelves to see how global our palates have become.

This fact is aptly illustrated with the findings of a new survey reported in the national media this week showing Italian cuisine is the nation’s favourite, followed by Indian and French.

The rebirth of British cuisine, led by the likes of Delia Smith, has seen us take pride in our own recipes too. Britannia’s fare came in fourth, in the survey taking into consideration the tastes of 3 million diners.

It’s all good news for Solihull’s many restaurants especially Giovanni’s – you can guess what type of fare they serve & you only have to read what you say about them!

Also for those who want a spicier experience there is Indian Dreams or Saleem Bagh.

And for those, like yours truly, who like traditional fare we have The Bull at Furnace End and The Fat Cat.  Mind you the bistro pubs, which include Beeches Bar and Grill and The Town House, should also be brought into the equation.

This little mention is not complete without our Country House hotels Hogarths and Nuthurst Grange. They provide grandeur hard to beat.

On the subject of food how many of you saw the first in the series about Delia Smith?  I happened on it by accident and am glad I did.

Strangely, it appears our Delia was a bit of a rebel in her younger days. S he was hopeless at school, and basically kicked out of secretarial college.  Only when she got a temporary job washing dishes in a London restaurant she began to find her direction.

She also came across a fascinating fact in those days when wondering why British food was seen as such a joke.  It appears that the industrial revolution stripped a rich heritage of fine fare, in which recipes were passed down from mother to daughter.

As the masses made for the cities these legendary recipes were lost and our convenience food for the masses thus became the laughing stock of Europe.

Delia made it her job to unearth these recipes, spending countless hours researching in the British Library and giving them back to the nation. What a star.

It was fascinating stuff.

Michael Nolan runs successful Solihull business Nolan PR