But has British food historically been good? No, it has not.

Oh boy. You should Google that, because you couldn’t be more wrong.

Edit:

Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forme_of_Cury XIV century cookbook. Damn, oldest known recipe for macaroni and cheese comes from it.

XIV - XV century whole Europe was jelly for English cuisine.

XVI you were the capital of pastries and sweets.