It is very important what we eat, and how we eat, because food is one of the basic things for people. Most people usually have 3 meals a day, breakfast, dinner and supper. In some cases for example in illness, or on sliming diet we have a special program for catering. All nations have their characteristic cuisine.

British cuisine and eating habits

In Britain people often have five meals a day – breakfast, elevenses (a morning snack), lunch, tea and dinner.

The British like to begin the day with a nice cup of coffee or tea in bed early in the morning. Then they have a breakfast, they don´t like to hurry – they take their time having breakfast. The English breakfast starts with glass of juice and a cereal, usually cornflakes with milk or porridge. Then they have fried or grilled bacon and eggs, sausages or toast with marmelade.

In the middle of the morning they have elevenses, which is usually a cup of coffee and some biscuits. Sometimes, often at weekends they have brunch – it is combination meal which is eaten instead of breakfast and lunch.

The midday meal is generally called lunch and it is usually very light. If it is the main meal of the day (at Christmas or on Sunday), it is called dinner. Lunch often consist of a salad, ham, sandwiches, pizza, hamburgers and a dessert. Sometimes they have a soup – vegetable or chicken.

Around four o´clock it is teatime. The traditional tea consists of thin slices of white or brown bread and butter with cheese, fish or ham, perhaps some vegetable, cakes, biscuits and tea or coffee usually with milk.

Dinner is served around 7 o´clock. It consist of three or four courses – soup or some starter, then the main course, dessert and some cheese and biscuits. The main course is mostly meat or fish with potatoes and vegetables – carrots, beans, peas, cabbage or broccoli. The meat is often beef, mutton or lamb. As dessert they have fruit, fruit salad, fruit pie, fruit cake, pudding, custard or ice cream. They have some drink too – beer or wine and they finish their dinner usually with coffee.

Somewhere especially in the North of England or if they stay up late at night they have a supper. It is later in the evening and they eat usually tea, cocoa, milk, sandwiches, bread with butter, cakes, cheese or biscuits.

Czech cuisine eating habits

We eat more than British or Americans and our food is less healthy. The Czechs eat many floury, sweet and fatty meals, such as dumplings, pastry (cakes, sweets), fat meet and sausages. Our food should consist of more vegetables, fruit, poultry and fish with more vitamins and minerals.

We have often very light breakfast – for example tea with bread and butter or cheese or marmalade.

Sometimes we have an elevenses – for example a fruit with juice.

Czech midday meal is the main meal of the day. We often eat it at canteens or in restaurants. It is usually a three-course meal which consists of soup, the main course and a dessert. We also sometimes – usually on festive occassions serve an aperitif and an hors d´oeuvre. Aperitif – it is a drink before eat to have a good appetite. As for soup we have bouillon, clear soups – beef, chicken, vegetable or with liver-balls, thick soup – potatoe, tripe or fish soup, celery, tomato or cauliflower soup. The main course is often some meat with trimming. The meat is often pork or beef with a sauce and potatoes, chips, rice, dumplings or potatoe dumplings, spaghetti, pasta or mashed potatoes. As dessert we often have fruit (fresh or stewed), ice cream or custard with fruit. We have also a drinks – usually a beer or a soft drinks – mineral water, coke, lemonade or juice.

The Czech evening meal can be cold – salami, ham, cheese, cakes, eggs, bread or rolls and some vegetable or hot – pancakes, pizza, goulash with bread, risotto or some thick soup.

The typical Czech speciality are fruit dumplings with cottage cheese and pork with cabbage and dumplings.

We have some traditional foods too – on special occasions such as Christmas. On Christmas we have fish soup, fried carp and potatoe salad, but many people have roast goose with dumplings, Wiener schnitzel or roast turkey. The British Christmas Day meal is roast turkey with stuffing and potatoes and Christmas pudding.

When we are travelling, we cannot observe the traditional scheme of daily meals. Usually we have to eat out in a restaurant, a cafeteria, a snack bar or a fast food restaurant. We can get sausages with bread or roll, hot dogs, hamburgers, chips or some drinks at a refreshment stall in the street.

I usually have a light breakfast – tea with biscuits or bread with butter and honey. Sometimes I have an elevenses too – a ginger-bread or a fruit – orange or banana. I have usually lunch in school canteen. Then I have a snack – usually a fruit or piece of cake. In the evening I have a supper – usually a hot meal.

My favourite meal is fried pork steak with mashed potatoe, goulash with duplings or pizza ,I like soups too – potatoe soup or brocolli soup. I can cook too – I usually cook at home and my father helps me. I can cook steak, goulash, fish and chips, some soup and others. I like fruit (orange or apple) and vegetable (carrot or cucumber). We grow in the garden a lot of fruit and vegetable – pears, apples, tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, raspberries, carrot, radish, horse-radish, pea or bean.