English cuisine developed from farming, baking, roasting, preserving, and the use of locally available meat, fish, grains, dairy, and root vegetables. Roast dinners, pies, sausages, breads, cheeses, puddings, and fish dishes remain important reference points in the traditional food culture.

Modern English cooking is much more diverse than its traditional image suggests, reflecting immigration from South Asia, the Caribbean, East Asia, Africa, and Europe. Indian curries, Chinese and Middle Eastern foods, contemporary gastropub cooking, and renewed interest in regional British ingredients now sit alongside long-established dishes.