The culinary achievements of 1000 years of English civilization, so far as I can tell, are these 5 things:
1. fish & chips
2. beans on toast
3. cheese on toast
4. several deserts that are basically just cream
5. taking whatever's left in the pantry and putting it in a puff pastry

The fact that the English think "Fish & Chips" is some kind of amazing culinary creation says it all. It's not even a dish. It's just two things next to each other. You fried a fish and you fried potatoes and put them on the same plate.