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Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, in partnership with research agency Mintel Consulting, has launched ‘a modern day census’ into the nation’s kitchen habits.
The ‘Kitchen Dynamics’ study quizzed more than 2,500 families over three months on everything from the weekly family grocery shop to how they behaved in the kitchen on a daily basis.
Key findings include the news that Sunday lunch is now a Sunday evening feast, with half of the families dishing up between 4.30pm and 7.30pm; while the average family eats at 5.54pm during the week. Some 84% of families find time to sit down together at least twice a week, with 46% choosing to serve dinner in a dining room, separate from the kitchen.
And it seems that women are still kitchen chiefs. Despite the perception of men increasingly sharing domestic duties, the report shows that women still have overall responsibility for all things kitchen-related with 86% of women saying that they do the cooking most of the time.
The family kitchen budget is also controlled by women, with 74% saying they are the most economical with the grocery finances. When handed the shopping bags, men spend an extra £235 on groceries each year, which could be attributed to the fact that just 31% of men plan the meals they cook in advance, compared with 66% of women.
Susi Richards, Head of Food at Sainsbury’s, said: “‘Kitchen Dynamics’ offers a ‘fly on the wall’ snapshot of how the average British family behaves in the comfort of their own kitchen.
“Despite the downturn, reassuringly we are still seeing a real emphasis on the importance of eating together and the presence of routine as a way of coping with the pressures of the busy family week.
“The shifting backwards of the Sunday lunch to early evening is a clear example of families ring-fencing meal time but adapting tradition to suit the modern day demands of a hectic family schedule.”
