Britain might have a new favorite food: Polish. About 1.2 million Poles live in London and the rest of Britain, many of them recent immigrants drawn by jobs and high standards of living.
The big Polish presence has triggered a boom in supermarket sales of food from back home. Britain's biggest chain grocery store, Tesco, started selling Polish products in 2006. The move proved so popular that the retailer now carries Polish food in 500 of its stores in Britain, including many that are near the big Polish communities in London.
Hoping to reach customers who might live near a Tesco store selling Polish items, the company on Wednesday launched a Web site (www.tesco.com/polski/) selling Polish food, including pulpety (meatballs) and delicje (biscuits with chocolate and ham).
"The rocketing demand means that Polish has become the fastest-growing ethnic food range we have ever launched, including our Indian and Chinese cuisines," said Kaska Teofilak, a Tesco buyer who regularly goes to Poland in search of the latest food trends.
Like the U.S., Britain has a long history of embracing other nation's foods. In 2003, a survey by the British Broadcasting Corp. found that eight of the 10 most popular take out dishes were of Indian or other Asian origin.
Aaron O. Patrick
The Wall Street Journal
May08.2008
The British are infamous for their horrid food. These biscuits are certainly not going to improve matters.
Posted by: ce399 | 15 May 2008 at 17:41