Brits Choose Chinese Food Over American, Italian And Mexican

Brits Choose Chinese Food Over American, Italian And Mexican

By newsroom | April 4, 2009 - 8:35 pm - Posted in World News, food news

Chinese meals are more popular than Indian ones in the U.K., according to research by Mintel that challenges assertions that Britons’ favorite food is curry.A total of 83 percent of 1,000 adults questioned about ethnic cuisines said they liked Chinese meals, whether consumed at home or outside. That compares with 71 percent for Indian, 39 percent for Mexican or Tex-Mex, 38 percent for Thai, 26 percent for Greek, 18 percent for Cajun and 15 percent for Turkish. Japanese and Caribbean/Jamaican tied on 14 percent.

“Ethnic cuisine is an integral feature of British society, with about six in 10 adults enjoying foreign food, particularly men and those in higher socioeconomic groups,” Mintel says in “Ethnic Cuisine U.K.,” which is published today.

Still, Indian food is so popular in Britain, the former colonial power, that the late foreign secretary Robin Cook once proclaimed chicken tikka masala as Britain’s true national dish. You can spot restaurants serving the cuisine on almost any high street. Most of the chefs are from Bangladesh.

Retail sales of Indian foods rose to an estimated 556 million pounds ($798 million) in 2008, from 553 million pounds a year earlier, Mintel says. That compares with an increase to 367 million pounds from 365 million pounds for Chinese. Mexican jumped to 192 million pounds from 177 million pounds, while Thai slipped to 56 million pounds from 62 million pounds, it says.

About 32 percent of respondents said they had visited a Chinese restaurant in the past 12 months, compared with 30 percent for Indian, 25 percent for British, 24 percent for Italian and 20 percent for pizza. Pubs came top with 52 percent.

Cook at Home

The retail value of ethnic cuisine in 2008 was more than 1.3 billion pounds, helped by the growth in long-haul travel and innovations by manufacturers such as kits to cook at home.

Among ready meals, excluding pizza, the market share is as follows: British (51 percent), pasta (42 percent), Indian (41 percent), Chinese (32 percent), other Italian (15 percent), vegetarian (13 percent), Mexican/Tex-Mex (7 percent) Thai (6 percent) and French (1 percent).

Sales of Italian ready meals jumped 33 percent from 2003 to 2008, compared with declines of 22 percent for British, seven percent for Indian and 18 percent for Chinese, Mintel says.

Mintel is a supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence, with offices in Chicago, London, Belfast, Sydney, Tokyo and Shanghai.