How Do Our Eating Habits Differ by Region here in Britain?

How Do Our Eating Habits Differ by Region here in Britain?

We are a nation of foodies! As many as 66% of UK adults describe themselves as passionate about food and drink and I’m no different myself. 50% say that they’re passionate about home cooking and 53% of millennials eat out at restaurants at least once every week.

Brits also spend a small fortune on this culinary hobby — whether the food enjoyed is from restaurants, a takeaway ordering website, or supermarkets. The average weekly spend per hear is £44 but how is the spread across the different ways of enjoying food?

Harvey Jones, designers of bespoke Chichester Kitchens, takes a look at the UK’s eating habits by region.

• Takeaway Lovers

It will not come as a surprise to you, that Brits love a takeaway! The average Brit spends around £9.75 on eating out or takeaways for themselves at least once a month or £117 per year. There are 279 takeaway restaurants in Bristol and in Leeds, 77% of people say they have at least one takeaway per month. In York however, takeaways are not as popular with only 25% of people ordering a monthly take-out.

What’s the favourite type of takeaway food? Across the whole country, it’s Chinese with only 3 out of 30 cities question not choosing it as their number one. The second favourite is Indian which is also the number one favourite in Aberystwyth, Coventry and Wolverhampton. My personal favourite is pizza but I think my husband would agree with the rest of the country and choose Chinese!

• Eating Out

The average Brit spends around £288,000 in their lifetime eating out at restaurants and millennials spend even more. The average Brit eats out twice a week and the favourite option is pub grub. 18-29-year-olds spend twice as much as the other demographics on eating out in restaurants with a spend of £88 per week!

London is the city of eating out according to The Chronicle with the capital consuming the most Indian, Chinese, Thai, fish and chips and pizza meals at restaurants than any other city. The South East and Northern Ireland aren’t far behind, whilst Scotland appears to be the region that eats out the least. In Birmingham, 43% choose curry restaurants as their favourite and 34% on Londoners agree. In Glasgow, people prefer Spanish tapas and in Edinburgh, sushi is very popular.

Overall though, it’s pub grub is the post popular choice across the UK and Liverpudlians agree as 49% would go for tradition pub food over any other alternatives.

• Home Cooking

Modern life is busy with hectic work commitments and general family life and dinner time at home as therefore become less formal and less structured compared to previous decades. Last year, just over 20% of British families said that they sat down to dinner together once or twice a week. 1 in 5 families have their “family meals” in front of the television.

Our eating habits at home also differ in different households and regions, but nearly half of people enjoy cooking their own meals at home where they can control their own ingredients. 64% of people enjoy cooking, whilst 55% describe cooking as something they have to do. I’m a bit of both — I enjoy cooking when I have plenty of time to do it but not on a daily basis when I’m in a rush trying to fit in all the rest of the housework too.

Compared to 2005, more people are preparing meals from scratch now but where in the UK are people the most likely to make home-cooked meals?

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. As Scotland, Wales, the North West and North East were the regions that appeared to eat out the least that leads us to the assumption that they are more likely to stay home and prepare home-cooked meals more regularly.

The kitchen is the heart of the home and we spend so much time there with our families. Open-plan living means that cooking is no longer a lonely, solo task but that you can prepare a meal for your family whilst also spending time together.

Sources:

• https://trajectorypartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SaclaReport_v19FINAL.pdf
• http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/deliveroo-takeaway-food-most-popular-a7573141.html
• http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/takeaway-capital-uk-fast-food-6372818
• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/takeaway-just-eat-sales-up-rise-increase-home-delivery-appetite-local-restaurants-a7713366.html
• 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

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