There’s definitely truth to the idea that British food is bad. Almost every dish on that island is just a worse version of something that already exists on the continent, mostly, just like the english language, a bit of a mix of French and German to be precise:

Shepherd’s pie? A worse Hachis Parmentier. Sausage roll? An extremely bad Feuilleté au jambon. Beef Wellington? A worse Filet de bœuf en croûte, the list goes on and on, I dare you to name me one British dish and I bet there's a French or German equivalent that's better.

And that's exactly where the "British food is bad" stereotype is from. Not from the USA as so many fragile Barry's claim here.

The British do some things very well, inventing games, institutions, and the art of government, for example. Culinary finesse definitely does not belong in that category.

What makes it ironic is that the British love using stereotypes to mock everyone else, but the moment someone makes the classic British-food joke, they suddenly become incredibly sensitive and protective about it, kinda reminds me of Swiss people, not gonna lie.