The Sunday roast is a well-known British tradition, however new research by one of the UK’s leading furniture and flooring specialists, ScS, reveals the much-loved roast is on the decline in the UK and sees the rise of other hearty dishes which are fast becoming people’s preferred plateful, as well as some unusual roast essentials.
While we might still view the weekly Sunday roast as a family favourite, the study found only 39% of people in the UK sit down to eat the traditional meal once a week, with 17% stating they only eat it once a month. The Sunday roast proved to be most popular with the older generation, with more than half (54%) of people aged 65+ (baby boomers) saying they still eat a roast dinner once a week, in comparison to only 29% of those aged 25 – 34 (millennials), and 35% of those aged 18 – 25 (generation z).
Amanda Gummer, Child Psychologist, and founder of Fundamentally Children, said: “As our lives are so busy these days it is hard to find time to spend together as a family. Meal times allow parents to connect with their children and are ideal for everyone’s emotional wellbeing. Previous research has shown that family meals may be linked with lower rates of depression, as well as higher exam grades and self-esteem.”
When it comes to the essential items of the Sunday lunch, as a nation we’re all agreed that the humble potato should take a leading role. But in terms of the choice of meat or meat alternatives, both chicken and beef came out on top, with 28% of people choosing one of these options as their favourite roast ‘essential’.
The other top items, as voted for by people in the UK, were:
· Roast potatoes (80%)
· Yorkshire pudding (64%)
· Carrots (59%)
· Meat gravy (54%)
· Stuffing (45%)
· Broccoli (41%)
Other, more unusual Sunday roast additions included kale, with one in 10 participants choosing this as an option for their roast dinner, and ketchup, with 7% of people in the South East of England, and 5% of people in Scotland admitting they add the sauce to their roast dinner.
For those who prefer an alternative to the traditional Sunday roast, shepherd’s pie came out as most popular, with 25% of people voting for this as their go-to roast alternative. This was closely followed by Indian food and cottage pie, with 23% voting for these options.
The popularity of the Sunday roast also differs between cities, with 63% of people in Sheffield most likely to eat a roast dinner once a week, to half of people (50%) in Edinburgh admitting they only eat a roast once a month or on special occasions. The popularity of each roast item varies by location too, with the most popular city for chicken being Norwich, with 42%, for lamb it was Manchester, with 33%, and for pork it was Glasgow, with 23%.
Vicki Burns, Communications Executive at ScS, said: “We know people value time spent together round the dinner table, with seven out of 10 UK parents telling us they wished they were able to have more family mealtimes. So it’s surprising to see that the roast is losing its tradition with families, and as a nation we seem to be enjoying the rise of some untraditional roast items, such as kale and ketchup.
“What’s even more interesting is that the Sunday roast was voted the most likely dish to bring the family together for a meal, so could it be that the much-needed return of the Sunday roast, and all those new alternatives, can bring us back together around the dinner table once more, whether it’s a new take on the old classic or a tasty vegetarian alternative.”
