Taste the Difference: Keeping Up With Changing British Tastes
Eddie Stableford, from Brand Clock, gives his insight into the solutions to changing British tastes. Take a look...
According to a recent report from Asian Network, approximately 87 percent of Indian restaurants in the UK are run and owned by Bangladeshis. For decades, curry houses have been serving dishes, such as chicken tikka masala, korma and vindaloo. These recipes are a big part of British culture, but many of these “Indian” restaurants are now struggling, as British tastes are evolving and changing.
At the Leisure F&B Expo, Eddie Stableford will be taking the stage to discuss a little bit about the ways you can become a disruptor food brand in this ever-changing foodie world. Get your FREE ticket to the show, and hear him speak, on Wednesday 6th November at 3.30pm AND Thursday 7th November at 2.45pm at Theatre 14. Don’t miss out on hearing his fantastic tips and tricks to navigating the competitive world of food and beverage.
The Solution to Changing British Tastes
Young British Asian chefs, such as Nitisha Patel and Cynthia Shanmugalingam, are fast emerging, providing authentic regional cuisine, such as Gujarati, Punjabi and Sri Lankan food. But it’s not just about Indian food; Italian and Chinese cuisines have long vied for the top spot, and new dishes are increasingly finding their way onto menus in a quest to attract new customers.
According to a study by Meerkat Meals, the average British person spends more than five hours each year deciding where to eat, and revealed that millions of diners avoid trying new foods because they can’t decide what to go for! This reinforces common food shopping behaviour too where, despite the huge choice on offer to consumers, the average household food repertoire is limited to just 60 items.
The survey results also showed that the average British person dines out at least once a month, with six in 10 choosing to eat at the same venue every time.
Julie Daniels, associate director of customer rewards and partnerships at Compare the Market, said: “Everyone loves dining out, and with such a wide selection of restaurants and cuisines so easily accessible, we’re a nation spoilt for choice. However, the seemingly-simple question of ‘What do you want to eat?’ can often become an excruciating conversation, and this, in turn, means many are finding the whole experience difficult.”
The study also found a common barrier to trying new restaurants is the size of the dining group, with nearly half of those polled saying it’s harder to pick a place to eat when eating out with four or more people. It also emerged that choosing where to eat as a group takes on average 25 minutes, which totals five hours over a year.
Half of those surveyed said choosing a restaurant that everyone likes “can take the fun out of the experience”. The research also found British people prefer to eat out when they do not have to choose where to go, with more than one third stating it is easier when someone else chooses the restaurant.
Overall, Caribbean was the cuisine most British people would most like to try with a fifth of diners saying it was on top of their “must try” list.
Top 10 Cuisines British People Choose When Dining Out
- Pub food
- Italian
- Chinese
- Indian
- American
- Mexican
- Thai
- Spanish
- Mediterranean
- French
Top 10 Cuisines British People Would Like to Try More of When Dining Out
- Caribbean
- Thai
- Greek
- Japanese
- Chinese
- Mediterranean
- Moroccan
- Spanish
- Mexican
- Vietnamese
What Can we Learn From All This?
So, with this relatively fixed behaviour, and reluctance to try new food experiences, where are the opportunities for new brands introducing new flavours and food experiences to market?
Unlike formal dining, snacking is in a massive state of flux and huge growth too. Increasingly, formal meals are being replaced with all day grazing, and it is these eating occasions when consumers are much more likely to try new foods.
As a consequence, street food has never been more popular, and restaurants that offer sharing platters, tapas style dishes or taster menus are growing in numbers in response – combining fast service with opportunities to try eclectic foods from around the globe.
The Newest Trend?
A cuisine that is capitalising on this trend is Peruvian, with its vast array of over 500 national dishes and renowned of course for ceviche. Lomo Saltado is their most popular meat dish, and is part Criollo and part Chifa. Criollo means mixed influenced, and Chifa is the cuisine in Peru which blends Peruvian foods with Chinese influences.
The Chinese arrived in Peru in the 1850s to build the railways, and brought with them a variety of cooking techniques. This dish is beef, and flame-cooked in a wok with native ingredients, like amarillo chillies, tomatoes and red onions. Its smoky flavour gives it character, but it is the sauce – a combination of Peruvian and Chinese ingredients that really make it a fabulous, must try dish.
Another cuisine enjoying high growth is Thai and the fast-expanding Giggling Squid chain, offering truly authentic Thai street food through their varied and ‘designed for the eyes’ menu. Check out their lunchtime tapas menu – perfect for sharing and for trying out new dishes.
Meet Eddie Stableford at the Leisure F&B Expo!
Liking the sound of Eddie’s ideas? Then don’t forget to get your FREE ticket to hear Eddie speak! Don’t miss out, and head on over to Theatre 14, on Wednesday 6th November at 3.30pm AND Thursday 7th November at 2.45pm, at the NEC, Birmingham.
For more details about Eddie’s company, Brand Clock, head over to their website at: https://brandclock.co.uk/.
Otherwise, to learn more about what to expect at the Leisure F&B Expo, and why you should attend, click here for our blog post detailing everything you need to know.
