Letter: Timing is the best English ingredient

Sir: Frances Neill (letter, 14 December) may be justified in supporting Elizabeth David but it's a pity she had to do so at the expense of English cooking. A good English meal suffers from one defect: it will not be a delight if the timing of prep aration and cooking is not perfect - no "warming up", no allowing to cool after it has been cooked and all the parts must come together at the right moment. This is too difficult for restaurants, the busy or the unskilled - which is why, I suppose, it ha s long been extinct in the south of England. It endured for longer in the North, and I ate many excellent dinners during the war years.

Yours faithfully, JOHN TIPPLER Stockholm Sweden 15 December