Exploring Chicago’s British Community

by: Theresa Carter

A few years ago my parents went to London. When they returned, they went on and on, raving about the museums and the cab drivers and the culture and the people. It seemed they loved everything about London, except for the food. Bland, they called it. Tasteless.

They must have gone to the wrong places.

After Athens and Paris, London was the next host city for the modern-day Olympic games, so I decided to explore Chicago’s British community a bit. After my parents’ experience what I found was surprising: the English love their food.

I don’t mean “their food” as in they love to eat. I mean they love the mother country’s cuisine. Despite the number of fish & chips options in Chicago, none of them are quite what they remember and none of them are served in paper the way they ought to be. They despair at the lack of a chippy, a counter store-homage to fried fish, fried potatoes, fried sausage, and fried pizza. However, they can find tastes of home in the Chicagoland area. They’ll drive as far north as Long Grove and as far south as Tinley Park to find Tate & Lyle Golden Syrup. Expats chat online about where to find “proper bangers”, Walkers crisps, pork pies and black pudding. One tiny little shop in Lakeview, Clarkport Pantry, can satisfy all of those yearnings. One chap said that “Treasure Island has Danish Bacon that makes me yearn for the damp and rain of home.”

There is, of course, more to the English community in Chicago than a desire for their native cuisine. Britain and the U.S. are the largest economic partnership in the world. The Chicago chapter of the British-American Business Council focuses on forging connections between the countries, and on specifically offering opportunities to British people in Chicago.

They also give back to the surrounding community. The British School of Chicago, which teaches a British curriculum, is open to all nationalities. This style of education advances students by level of learning, and not by age.

In preparation for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, maybe some enterprising graduate from the British School will open up a chippy with the assistance of the BABCC. He’ll do a bang-up business and make the visiting athletes, and our Chicago Brits, feel like they’re back home.

In the meantime, they’re happy to tip back a pint or two and enjoy the almost-like-home fish and chips at this community’s Hidden Gem (stay tuned!).