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More popular than pizza and fish and chips, curry has long been a
favourite in British homes.
But a study for Sharwood's has revealed that Chinese has taken over
from Indian cuisine as the nation's favourite food.
Researchers found that 39 per cent of people preferred Oriental
flavours, such as sweet and sour and chow mein to Indian sauces like
tikka masala.
The nation's favourite: Chinese dishes, such as chow mein, sweet and
sour and stir fry, have become more popular than Indian dishes, like curry
British food was third in the list of favourite national cuisines,
while Italian was fourth and Thai, fifth.
The poll of 3,000 people by Sharwood's, to mark the Chinese New Year
weekend, showed that Britons had become more adventurous in the
kitchen, with two thirds saying they regularly cooked 'exotic' food.
One in ten claimed to be completely confident in their ability to
cook foreign dishes without any difficulty, while a third said they
were more likely to make their own ethnic meals at home instead of
heading to a restaurant.
A spokesman for Sharwood's said: 'Traditional English dishes will
always have a place in our hearts, but they will never be able to
excite the tastes buds like a Chinese meal can.
'After a while, it's easy to get bored of fish and chips or roast
dinners, so it's nice to enjoy something slightly more exotic.
'Chinese cuisine has a wide variety of dishes which mean there is
pretty much something for everyone, even if you aren't usually that
brave when it comes to trying new food.'
THE NATION'S TOP TEN FAVOURITE CUISINES
1. Chinese
2. Indian
3. British
4. Italian
5. Thai
6. American
7. Mexican
8. Japanese
9. Greek
10. French
The survey revealed that the average person spends almost £20 a
month on ingredients to make their own exotic dishes at home, and
another £31.44 per month eating out in restaurants - a total of
almost £20,000 between the ages of 18 and 50.
The city of Belfast was found to have the most exotic tastes, with
each person spending an average of £60.14 a month on foreign food.
London came second with an average monthly total of £56.32,
followed by Brighton, where people spend around £54.58 a month.
Manchester, Portsmouth and Leeds completed the top five.
Those living in Aberdeen were found to be the least keen on exotic
food, spending just over £40 per month - less than £490 a year.
Oxford, Plymouth, Southampton and Swansea were also named among the
cities most likely to stick to traditional British foods. |
