New research has found that British consumers want to find more options in restaurants that pertain to traditional British cuisine. Brakes, the food company, commissioned the report to coincide with the British Food Fortnight that takes place from September 18th through October 3rd. The report also revealed that diners appreciate the use of British produce on the menus.
Diners stated that they would like to see Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, Toad in the Hole, and Roast Dinner dishes back on the menus of restaurants as well as pies, Liver and Onions, and stews.
Two thirds of those who responded to the survey felt that caterers should offer regional specialties such as roast in Wales, ploughman’s lunch in England, and traditional bacon and eggs in Scotland.
Other traditional dishes that those included in the survey stated they would like to see back on restaurant menus include Beef Wellington, Cottage Pie, and Shepherd’s Pie which has caused Brakes to suggest that Chinese and curry takeaways may be starting to fade out of fashion.
Marketing Director for Brakes, James Armitage, stated that the national study reveals that diners enjoy British food while they are eating out and that this is a great time for caterers to place classic dishes back onto their menus.
74% of consumers in the study reported that they would like restaurants to offer local produce from their region while another 75% felt strongly that seasonal food items should be incorporated into the menus of eateries.
Armitage added that those who eat out now zoned in on the importance of classic British dishes and local produce which has been the result of celebrity chefs and the continual emphasis on both by the media.
London restaurant openings are continuing to occur despite the effects of the economic downtown according to a survey that was announced today. Over the last year period ending in August there were 140 restaurant launches, which was almost two times more than the amount of closures.
According to the Hayden’s London Restaurants guide, this is the largest amount of restaurant launches seen since 2007 and the third largest amount of openings ever.
Many large names welcomed diners into their area including the Galvin bothers’ Glavin La Chapelle in Spitalfields, Daniel Boulud’s Bar Boulud in Knightsbridge at the Mandarin Oriental, and Russel Norman’s Polpo in Soho.
Over the past few weeks other large openings have been the five million pound Shaka Zulu and the Pierre Koffmann bistro titled Koffmann’s.
Outside of restaurant openings, the survey also revealed that the overall cost of eating out has stayed the same due to the fact that restaurant owners are still launching special menus and deals in order to keep their tables full.
The average bill for the year on year period ending in August was £41.75 which is only a .3% increase from the year before.
Co-author of the guide, Peter Harden, stated that London restaurants are currently in ‘rude health’ given the fact that when they first started the guide everything seemed to be closing since no one could afford to eat out. He added that now it seems different with more people turning to eating out as an affordable option.
According to the British Retail Consortium, a group that represents about 80% of Britain’s retailers, the cost of food has gone up and the cost of non-food has gone down.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said that the rise in food costs was due mainly to global factors including the record heat wave in Russia that damaged much of the wheat crop, driving wheat to its highest cost in 22 months.
Other climate-related problems around the world, i.e. the draught in Australia and floods in Canada, India and Pakistan contributed to the increase, as both livestock feed and many fruit crops suffered from either too much or not enough water.
The drop in cost of non-food goods such as clothing, flooring and furniture was the greatest in 18 months, according to the same report. This decrease resulted from retailers offering major discounts, so it is not really a reflection of the overall economic situation.
Policy makers at Bank of England are divided as to the degree of risk to the economy of inflation and budget cuts.
It is expected that they will vote to keep temporary stimulus measures in place at present. Economists also predict that the planned increase in the VAT as of January 2011 will cause a significant rise in the rate of inflation.
Almost half of all UK consumers have been attempting to save money on food and drink over the past six months according to a report published by the Oxford Research Agency (TORA).
The report found that only US consumers were more cost conscious although 39% of UK consumers did not change their spending habits. This means that only 16% actually spend more on drink and food.
In other areas of the world, there are more people spending than saving which shows the uneven nature of confidence in the economy including Germany, China, and Brazil.
The figures that make up the report from the TORA were reached by subtracting the amount of people that saved money on their food and drink purchases versus the percentage of people that spent more. Positive results show that spenders are the majority while negative results show that savers are the majority.
As part of the report, TORA interviewed 1534 people from the USA, UK, China, Brazil, Germany, and France before it compiled the final product.
Further evidence that proves UK consumers are cost conscious about their purchases is that 64% of those in the survey reported that they take their lunch from home to work, with 11% going out to eat, 14% purchasing food to eat at the office, and 11% skipping lunch together.
Also revealing was the fact that one in three people in the UK eat their evening meal in front of the television with their family with one in five within the United States reporting the same thing. This is drastically different in areas such as China where 75% of families eat together at the table.
Beck’s Vier and 580 have announced their much anticipated line-up for the “Music Inspires Art” UK Tour. The incredible quality collection of incredible talent includes Hudson Mohawk, These New Puritans, Metronomy and New Young Pony Club DJ sets.
The The Rest is Noise in Brixton will be the venue on Saturday, July 31st for the Hundred in Hands, Ocelot and Jimmy Edgar gig, which will take a UK tour that will circuit the UK throughout the summer.
Not only will there be an incredible selection of top of the acts great venues entry will be free, to get your hands on tickets you will need to make your way to the Beck’s Vier Facebook page www.facebook.com/becksvier
The gigs are intended to bring out the very best of new music at the best venues such as Bungalows and Bears, The Shipping Forecast, Amersham Arms, and many more. Also getting involved will be the art collectives Future Shorts and Squeaky Hill and Cabinet of Living Cinema, who will be helping to fuse together great sounds with great visuals.
Beck’s Vier have a long history of collaborating with artists and musicians to bring new talent to the forefront and get them noticed by a much wider audience, for example the artist Jamie Brown will be painting the outside of each of the venues with its own unique style so there is not possibility that will have trouble finding the gigs
These are the opening July events
60 Million Postcards, Bournemouth: 1 – 4 July
Featuring: DJ Cheeba, Luke Abbot, Plaid, The Cabinet of Living Cinema, Rudi Zygadlo, The Invisible, Dam Mantle, Squeaky Hill Art & Comedy, Summer Camp, Pariah, New Young Pony Club, Lone Wolf, Minotaur Shock, Sunday Girl DJ set
60 Million Postcards, 19 Exeter Road, Bournemouth BH2 5AF
www.sixtymillionpostcards.com / 01202 292 697
The Kraken Wakes, Portsmouth: 15 – 18 July
Featuring: DJ Cheeba, Plaid, The Cabinet of Living Cinema, Rudi Zygadlo, The Invisible, Dam Mantle, Squeaky Hill Art & Comedy, Summer Camp, Pariah, Lone Wolf, Hudson Mohawke DJ set, Minotaur Shock, Sunday Girl DJ set
1 – 2 St. Michaels Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2EE
www.thekrakenwakes.com
Lock Tavern, London 23 – 25 July
Friday 23 July Metronomy Dj set, Dave ID, The Eyes in the Heat, Modern Romance DJs
Sat 24 July El – B, Rockwell, Pariah + special guest.
Sun 25 July These New Puritans DJ set, Civil Civic, Sunday Girl DJ set, David Lyre
Lock Tavern, 35 Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8AJ
www.lock-tavern.co.uk / 020 7482 7163
The Rest Is Noise, London: 29 – 31 July
Thurs 29 July These New Puritans DJ set, Standard Planets, Hoodlums, The Eyes in the Heat
Fri 30 July Untold, Ben UFO, Work It, Envy (LIVE MC SET)
Sat 31 July Jimmy Edgar (LIVE), Hundreds in Hands (LIVE), Ocelot (LIVE), P45
Sun 1 Aug Dels, Ghostpoet, United Vibrations, Sunday Girl DJ set, Squeaky Hill Arts Collective
442 Brixton Road, Brixton, London, SW9 8EJ
www.therestisnoise.com
Other acts already signed up to appear include Ariel Pink, Little Boots, Lone Wolf, The Nextmen, Chapel Club, Joakim, Foreign Beggars, Plaid, Young Turks, Mount Kimbie, The Invisible, Hudson Mohawke, Rudi Zygadlo, Silver Columns, Luke Abbott, Andrew Weatherall, Sbtrkt + Sampha, S.C.U.M
580 who brought you Nail the Cross, Adventures in the Beetroot Field, and Field Day will be setting up their own unique program involving filmmakers, artists and DJs to produce a diverse and eclectic mix that will include some of the most blogged about acts like Class Actress and Sampha who have just signed to Young Turks, as well past a whole host of local new talent from each city.
