In defence of British food

My dander was got up by this article in the Melbourne Age last weekend. In discussing whether Sydney or Melbourne has better food, the writer Simon Thomsen casually insults my homeland. "English food is mostly dull and weary because, like the people, the country is well worn and downtrodden. It takes French and Australian chefs to liven things up there".
I know our food (and this is effectively saying the same about Welsh, Scottish, Irish food imho) doesn't have the greatest reputation in the world, but anyone who's lived or visited recently should have noticed that there's plenty of passion about good food around - look at the proliferation of farmers' markets or the revolution in school dinners inspired by Jamie Oliver. Multicultural London has all the ingredients in the world if you're prepared to look for it. As for any improvemnet being down to French or Australian chefs, well what about the likes of Heston Blumenthal (arguably, along with Ferran Adria in Spain, one of the two most adventurous chefs around), Gordon Ramsay, Tom Aitkens, Angela Hartnett, Fergus Henderson, Shaun Hill, Richard Corrigan, Rowley Leigh: entrepreneurs such as Alan Yau (Wagama, Busaba Eathai, etc.) or Craig Sams and Josephine Fairley (Green and Blacks) plus food writers/presenters/activists such as Nigel Slater, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the above mentioned Jamie O?
Sure lots of people still eat at rubbish fast food joints or microwave their meals at home - I bet they do here in Oz too, and that your average RSL is not a haven of fine dining. I've had some great meals both in and out here in Melbourne, but it's not obviously better than London on the evidence so far.