For the English of Hitchcock's generation, the grand meal was not divided into starter-main-dessert à la française, but stretched out in a succession of courses: first a fish, then the roast meat (the joint), a sweet (the pudding), and finally, sometimes a savoury — a small salty bite served AFTER dessert to 'cleanse the palate.' Alongside this bourgeois table stood the other England, the East End where Hitchcock was born: street stalls, eel and pie shops, strong tea, and brown ale.

Hitchcock's English cooking revolves around melted butter, whipped cream, rare roast, and Bordeaux wine. No loud spices: noble fat, perfect cooking, and plenty, plenty of sauce.