Every year around St Patrick’s Day, the question arises: why does St George’s Day pass with so little fanfare? Unlike its Irish counterpart, England’s national saint’s day on 23 April has no attendant food tradition, which may explain its muted celebration. Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Bonfire Night all involve sharing food and drink, but St George’s Day offers nothing.
A visit to Borough Market in London could change that. The market showcases quintessentially English produce such as potted Morecambe Bay shrimp, farmhouse Wensleydale, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Somerset cider. Consuming oysters from the Blackwater estuary, raw milk from the Pevensey Levels or Kentish cobnuts means tasting the essence of home. St George is also the patron saint of farmers and butchers, and Borough’s butchers sell rare-breed native ox sirloin, best served with punchy English mustard – a culinary salute to the old patriotic ballad “The Roast Beef of Old England”.
By tradition, St George’s Day marks the start of the asparagus season, and English asparagus is world-class – sweet, mineral and intensely verdant. The market’s greengrocers highlight the ephemeral joys of seasonal eating, reminding us that our maritime climate gifts us superb green vegetables.
Despite being an icon of Englishness, St George never saw England. Born in modern-day Turkey to a Cappadocian Greek father and Palestinian mother, he served in the Roman army and was killed on 23 April 303. The dragon myth arose later in the 11th century. England’s food culture is defined by openness – fish and chips has refugee roots, and Indian curries have been embraced for centuries. So celebrating St George with falafel, Gemlik olives and Corinth raisins from his home region would be entirely appropriate.
St George is also patron saint of Bulgaria, Georgia, Portugal, Serbia and Ethiopia. Catalonians celebrate his day with particular verve, focusing on the romance of the myth. Borough Market, with its blend of English tradition and global influences, offers a fitting way to honour a saint who never set foot on English soil.
