Silpancho, Chirac & British cuisine

Cochabamba is Bolivia's most famous region for food and there seems to be a culinary festival of one kind or another every week around the country. While I can suggest dozens of reasons for visiting Bolivia, cuisine is in truth not one of the country´s major selling points.

The food is not bad, but for me it is very plain, consists in large portions of meat, the rather unusual combination of rice AND chips (carbohydrate crazy!) and there is a serious lack of vegetables. Some of the most famous dishes include silpancho (my girlfriend's favourite, opposite) which consists of fried, breaded meat with eggs, rice and fried bananas. The pique a lo macho is a delicious, huge dish of roast meet, sausage, chips, onion and pepper. I have also eaten such delicacies as aji de lengua (ox tongue) and roasted cow´s udders. The salteña is borrowed from Salta in Argentina and is the local equivalent of a meat or chicken pastry. In the Altiplano grains and potatoes dominate, while around Lake Titicaca and in the Chapare region, there are some wonderful fish which with the exception of trout I do not think exist at home. My dad would also be very happy, whatever the temperature, they love their soup out here - peanut soup being one of the more interesting varieties.

I am constantly asked about British cuisine. I reel off a few dishes like the sunday roast, shepherd´s pie, cumberland suasage, English breakfast, bread and butter pudding, scones and cream teas and then I tend to get a bit stuck, though I try to explain one of the best things about my country is the sheer variety of cuisine on offer - Thai, Italian, French, Turkish, Spanish tapas etc.

According to the BBC, I am a bit out of touch though. Food tourism is booming in the UK with a smorgasbord of food festivals and did you know that it is now officially "British Food Fortnight"? Jacques Chirac, who complained that only the Finns have worse cuisine, would choke on his tete de veau to learn that Britain produces 700 regional cheeses (more than France), has 600 varieties of apple and 125 species of fish and shellfish in its waters. Food tourism has become big business, worth nearly £4bn a year. In a recent survey of tourist perceptions of the UK food industry, two-thirds of Britons said that food and drink influenced their holiday choice. The West Country, Wales and Scotland occupied the top three destinations. New additions include a wine trail around the South-East and a Lake District afternoon tea trail.

Food also holds a key place in the "think globally, act locally" debate. An article in The Guardian about two years ago made me think how ridiculous it was that the produce in my trolley had travelled approximately 12,000 air miles. Buying British (where possible) supports local businesses and protects the environment by avoiding foods which have been transported long distances. In Bolivia, one sees the "Hecho en Bolivia" label everywhere so in many ways they are more advanced than us as well as being very proud of what their country offers (but please, chips or rice, not both together!).

Buen provecho.