Eating Trends by Region – How Do They Differ?
3 Min Read By Georgie White
Sixty-six percent of UK adults describe themselves as being passionate about food and drink. With Britain being a nation of foodies, It comes as no surprise that 50 percent say they are passionate about home cooking, with 53 percent of millennials eating out at least once a week. Millennials are the most common demographic to go out for food as oppose to those of an older demographic.
Whether it is takeaways, restaurants or luxury food from the supermarkets, it comes as no surprise that Brits spend a small fortune on food. It Is reported that the average Brit spends around £44 per week on restaurant bills alone. But what does our money get spent on? Designers of bespoke kitchens in Sussex, Harvey Jones, takes a look at the UK’s eating habits by region.
Eating Out
The average Brit can spend around £288,000 in their lifetime eating out at restaurants, the Sun reports.
One of the favourite options amongst those who commonly eat out is traditional British ‘pub grub’ with the majority of people owning up to the fact that they eat out at least once a week. 18-29 year olds spend double the amount of other demographics on eating out – with an average spend of £88 per week!
The most Indian, Chinese, Thai, fish and chips and pizza meals at restaurants are found in London are more common than any other city in the UK. The South East and Northern Ireland aren’t far behind the big city though, whilst Scotland appears to be the region that eats out the least.
The Curry Capital is known as Birmingham with 43 percent of residents claiming curry restaurants are their favourite, which 34 percent of Londoners seem to agree with. Spanish tapas (14 percent) is preferred in Glasgow while 14 percent of Edinburgh folk love Sushi.
Pub grub is one of the most popular choices in the UK – and Liverpudlians couldn’t agree more; 49 percent would choose traditional pub food. A strong favourite of those all over the UK.
Takeaway Lovers
The average Brit spends around £9.75 on eating out or takeaways for themselves at least once a month according to Payment Survey. Annually, this works out at £117 per person.
The Takeaway Capital of the UK with a reported 279 takeaway restaurants is known as Bristol, however Leeds appears to be the greatest lover of the takeaways. 77 percent of Leeds folk admit to having at least one takeaway a month.
Less than 25 miles away, people in York don’t dine as regularly on takeaways, with only 25 percent of them ordering a monthly take out.
The favourite cuisine across the whole of the UK tends to have been Chinese. Only 3 out of the 30 cities questioned didn’t crown Chinese as their favourite takeaway – and of all individual respondents asked, 35 percent voted Chinese as their favourite. This trend is mirrored between male and female respondents, too.
In second place, Indian cuisine follows as a close second place, with 24 percent of the votes. Indian stole the crown as the number one favourite takeaway in Aberystwyth, Coventry and Wolverhampton.
Home Cooking
In 2017, just over 20 percent of British families said they sat down to dinner together once or twice a week, and one in five have their ‘family meals’ whilst sitting in front of the television. Dinner time at home has become far less formal and structured than in previous decades, due to busy work schedules and family life. However, some people prefer to cook their own meals at home, as they can control their own ingredients (49 percent). This also helps with those who are trying to monitor their diet – a healthy alternative to a takeaway. This is also a cost effective approach as oppose to spending a large sum on takeaways and meals out each week.
Statista reported that 64 percent of people enjoy cooking, while 55 percent describe cooking as something they have to do but don’t. There has also been a 10 percent increase in the number of people preparing meals from scratch at least once a week from 2005.
But which regions are most likely to cook homecooked meals? Scotland, Wales, the North West and North East were the regions that appeared to eat out the least, leading us to the assumption that they are more likely to stay home and prepare home-cooked meals more often. Judging by how much London, the South West and Northern Ireland eat out, we can assume that they are the regions that are least likely to stay home and cook meals.
Now that open-plan living is on the rise, cooking a meal doesn’t have to be a lonely task; you can prepare a family meal in your modern kitchen while spending time with the family. Or entertaining friends. The kitchen is no longer just a place to dine, but also a place to socialise and make the most of the space that’s on offer.
Sources
https://trajectorypartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SaclaReport_v19FINAL.pdf
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/takeaway-capital-uk-fast-food-6372818
https://www.paymentsense.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-uks-favourite-cuisine/
http://store.mintel.com/attitudes-towards-cooking-in-the-home-uk-may-2016
https://www.statista.com/statistics/301495/attitudes-to-cooking-eating-meals-uk-great-britain/
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/article/bbc-good-food-nation-survey-results
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/data-regions-uk-eat-most-6404531
