Jalapenos, mayonnaise and macaroni are all making it into Sunday dinners
A Yorkshire pudding that has been filled with a traditional roast dinner
Younger diners are ditching gravy, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings and adding everything from hot sauces to avocado, according to a new roast dinner report. The survey by Lightspeed found that those aged 18-29 are changing the traditions of a roast dinner more than any other generation.
With two in five Gen Z respondents add ketchup, a quarter dollop on mayonnaise and just under one in four add hot sauce to a roast. Almost one in five regularly use chilli oil, one in seven even smear hot honey on their Sunday dinner, while the same amount leave off gravy and 12% have ditched the Yorkshire Pudding all together.
14% have swapped roasties for mash, while others add kimchi, avocado and sriracha.
Brits of all ages are swapping roast potatoes for sweet potatoes, adding jalapenos and even including mac & cheese. More than a third of those making changes saying it is to eat more vegetables or make the meal healthier.
The traditional roast remains as popular as ever, with the average Brit already tucking into 11 Sunday dinners this year. Beef is the nation’s favourite roast meat, ahead of chicken and lamb.
Sally Abé, who recently opened her first standalone restaurant Teal, said: “Ingredients that might once have felt niche, like celeriac, fermented vegetables or offal, are now much more widely accepted when they’re presented well. Younger diners in particular have grown up with a wider range of global flavours, so experimenting with traditional dishes doesn’t necessarily feel unusual to them.
“Even something as familiar as a Sunday roast can evolve, whether that’s through different vegetables, spicier flavours or new accompaniments. But at the same time, there has been a real return to comfort and nostalgia. People still want dishes that remind them of childhood or classic British cooking, but they expect them to be made with great ingredients and executed really well.”
Ana Munoz, at Lightspeed, said: “It’s clear that the way we eat out has changed significantly over the past ten years. Restaurants are having to respond to changing diner expectations and looking at the data, we see a clear desire from people to get the best of both worlds, where adventurous dishes and nostalgic favourites will go hand in hand on the menus of the future.”
Sally has collaborated with Lightspeed to create custom recipes of traditional favourites that people can cook at home here: https://utm.io/usy9Y
