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22nd April 2012

Horizon's Menurama survey reveals the nation's favourite dishes

Written by: Admin
Horizon's Menurama survey has revealed the top 10 dishes in the eating out of home market at an industry insight event hosted by Quorn Foods at Alyn Williams at the Westbury in London.
Traditional favourites still head the list with beef burgers taking top spot followed by whole pizza and fish and chips. Other popular choices in the list, which is comprised of dishes most commonly seen on pub, restaurant and hotel menus across the UK, included steak, chicken curry and roast dinner. Following the announcement guests enjoyed the nation's top 10 dishes made healthier by using Quorn as the main ingredient and a selection from Alyn Williams' new seven-course vegetarian taster menu. Paul Backman from foodservice analyst Horizons gave an insight on the eating out market and spoke of many emerging trends. "Healthy eating brands are making a big impression, making up almost 50% of menu items available in the UK," he explained. "The growth of healthy concepts such as Tossed, Chop'd and Leon is well underway as a result of consumer demand – and these are the ones to watch this year." "However price is also important, with 70% of consumers stating this is the main concern when eating out of home showing that value is driving the market. This year we'll also see the deformalisation of eating out accelerate, local sourcing and provenance continue to be important and the way operators engage with consumers change in tune with the development of social media and contactless payments." At the event, renowned nutritionist Amanda Ursell shared her views on the problems with the nation's health, and Vincent McKevitt, entrepreneur and founder of Tossed, gave an insight into the fast-casual healthy eating brand he created in 2004, which has expanded rapidly to eight outlets since opening in 2005, with three more planned for this year. McKevitt said that healthy food, a cool brand and fun summed up the Tossed concept: "When the idea for Tossed came about quick, healthy options were restricted to sub-standard, boring products in the UK. I wanted to create a funky brand that offered value for money, tasty and interesting meals that would appeal to all. "We were the first to put calorie labels on our menus – we've done it since the first shop opened its doors – but we don't want to shove the healthy message down our customers' throats. It's about enjoying eating healthy options and getting the 80/20 balance of healthy foods and treats right." Menurama's top 10 dishes eaten out of home: 1. Beef/cheeseburger 2. Whole pizza 3. Fish and chips 4. Chicken burger 5. Rump steak 6. Chicken curry 7. Sirloin steak 8. Grilled chicken 9. Roast chicken 10. Beef lasagne/sausage and mash