When Americans think of eating in England…gourmet is not the word that traditionally comes to mind.

Memories of mad cow and visions of steak and kidney pies, dance in some of our heads.

But that has all been changing, and not overnight.  A foodie revolution has been ongoing for years here, and is getting increasing attention.

London is an international city, so that has added to the variety of choices out there—from Georgian stews to Iranian kebabs and rice.  And as always, curries in every conceivable color.

London is chock full of celebrity chefs like Tom Aikens, whose cuisine is experimental, but who says the culinary boost really boils down to huge improvements in raw materials.

“Everything that is produced in the UK now is top, top quality.  When I was head chef of my first position at Pied a Terre I’d say 90% of my meat was from outside the UK because the quality was just not there, it was not what I wanted to give my customer.”

There is a real focus on where food comes from, and how it is produced.  Many chefs rely on their own organic gardens.

Believe it or not, but Britain makes more varieties of cheese than France does.

Nicolas Broche, manager of a French-owned cheese shop La Cave a Fromage in South Kensington says,

“I’m French myself and I shouldn’t say it, but I am a big fan of English cheeses.  You find fantastic quality of cheeses here.”

With London now something of an established food mecca, and the dollar up against the pound, Americans are rushing over here to get a piece of the action…anything from high end steak houses like the Palm, to New York super-chef Daniel Boulud, to Taco Bell…more and more of America’s favorites are crossing the pond, according to Ben Russell, of Steven Kamali Hospitality, which helps American chefs set up kitchen here.

“Steven Kamali Hospitality was absolutely overwhelmed by the level of interest from US operators looking to relocate outside the US, mainly to London.  So we are trying to act as a vehicle to grow their businesses on an international level.  I think the interest has evolved from London being perceived as becoming a very sophisticated culinary environment, and many restaurateurs are seeing it almost as a sister city to New York.”

A delicious aspect of the so-called special relationship that has not been given much attention.