Hello World! Welcome Friends! A good portion of my readers reside in the UK. So, this post is geared towards those lovelies and of course any of us that love to spend time visiting the UK. Yours truly included.
The people of the UK have strong opinions when it comes to our food – especially so when it’s our favorite meals and how they should be eaten. But over the years, dinner trends have evolved – once was a time where it was only acceptable to eat dinner around the table with the whole family. Now-a-days, not so much. What’s our attitude to dinner in particular? Oldrids & Downtown, providers of dinner sets, finds out.
What’s your favorite dinner?
Different taste buds mean everyone has a very different opinion on what the nation’s favorite dish should be, and different surveys tend to reveal different results. So, we’ll try and give you an overall picture.
According to the Spruce, Britain’s Top 10 favorite British foods are:
- Bacon sandwiches
- Roast dinners
- A cup of tea
- Fish and chips
- Yorkshire pudding
- Full English breakfast
- Cornish pastries
- Strawberries and cream
- Teatime treat, crumpets
- Beer
But the question is: when Brits get free reign, would they still choose the British cuisine? As reported by The Express, a survey commissioned by Welsh Lamb discovered that British food still came out on top – roast dinners and shepherd’s pie are dishes that come out on top. Second was Italian food, with dishes like spaghetti Bolognese and pasta, followed by Indian cuisine, Chinese and Thai.
The report also found that 56% of Brits are sourcing their food more locally, and paying more attention to where their food comes from.
Dinner with family
Family dinners used to be a tradition – every evening the whole family would sit around the table and have dinner together. However, recent research has found that fewer British families than ever are eating together, and those that do so tend to eat in front of the television.
Over 20% of British families only sit down to dinner once or twice a week, and one in five has family meals in front of the television.
And again, while home cooked meals used to be the norm, now-a-days, ready meals are also a preference for 60% of parents answering the survey, as they provided a quick and simple solution when faced with time constraints.
Are family dinners important?
According to Health.com, there are plenty of benefits that eating together can have on a family.
- Children may eat their vegetables. Research has found that children who eat with their families are more likely to eat fruit and vegetables.
- More fruit and vegetables means a healthier family. By eating together, a family has a greater chance of eating fruit and veg – making them healthier overall.
- Get time to catch up on your day. Eating dinner together as a family is time well-spent. It gives everyone a chance to catch up on their day and talk and listen to each other’s news.
- Save money by cooking dinners. As well as being healthier for you, cooking nourishing family meals is much cheaper than eating out. With a little planning – and a little batch cooking – you can make sure you grab a bargain and prepare nutritious meals.
‘Hostess with the mostest’
While family dinners are important, with trends changing, what does this mean for dinner parties with family and friends? The formal-style dinner parties of the 80s and 90s has disappeared, according to the Telegraph.
Research suggests that traditional dinner parties of the past had a focus on everyone eating the same meal, with prawn cocktail and fondue on the menu and wine on the table. Now, menus will be more flexible to incorporate dietary requirements, with diet-conscious salads, meat and grains and locally-sourced ingredients.
How to throw a dinner party
It is still popular right across the UK to have dinner with friends – even if dining out might have become slightly more popular. With the shift to more informal dining, here are a few tips to hosting a 2017 dinner party:
- Go for food you can prepare earlier in the day so you can spend time with guests. Stick something in the slow cooker, like a stew or curry, which can cook while you enjoy yourself.
- Put everything in serving dishes and let guests help themselves. Think big salads, rice dishes, assorted meats and sides.
- Don’t be afraid of short cuts. If it’s easier for you to buy the bread and use shop-bought pastry, just do it.
- Make a playlist to set the mood. Cater to your guests and make it varied and fun – you can even include some songs for a sing along/dance off, depending on the liveliness of your guests.
- Relax. If you’re at ease, your guests will feel at ease, and everyone will have a better time for it.
Click the links below for any posts you may have missed!
Shopping for the House: Latest Purchases
The Sunday Showcase from Make it Pretty Monday
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Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world! Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!
Toodles,
Sources:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/597667/Family_Food_2015-09mar17.pdf
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/food/694587/Britain-top-five-favourite-cuisines-revealed-food-roast-dinner
https://www.thespruce.com/britains-top-favourite-foods-drinks-435511
https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/183424/more-than-a-quarter-of-uk-families-dont-eat-a-meal-together/
https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/resources/faq/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/death-of-the-dinner-party-the-ultimate-guide-to-hosting-a-modern/
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