The Protestant work ethic and the dismal weather conspire to make eating more of a refueling pit-stop than a social ce1ebration. In the UK， where traditionally food has been the enemy which we cook until it is dead， the lunch hour is just that： one hour and increasingly without alcohol. Perhaps the GREatest advantage of a country without a deep heritage of indigenous cuisine， though， is the enormous variety of cooking from other traditions available in the UK. Whereas a business visitor to Portugal would be offered Portuguese food and one to Poland， Polish， the visitor to Britain is as likely to be offered Indian， Chinese， Thai or Malay. One Belgian businessman， encountering an Indian restaurant for the first time on a trip to this country was astonished by the smells and tastes which he encountered. Where Birmingham has its Indian Balti houses， Manchester is famous for good Chinese food， while in London the business luncher can eat as well as in any city in the world： but you will probably be expected to be back at the office by two.
