Sunday roast in decline as soaring cost of living bites

A quarter of cooks say they are now less likely to prepare a Sunday roast and nearly a fifth say they will no longer use their oven at all as they respond to the cost-of-living crisis, a survey suggests.

Soaring energy costs appear to already be influencing kitchen habits, with 23% of cooks saying they use the oven and hob less and 21% increasingly turning to the microwave, according to an annual survey by BBC Good Food.

Some 26% claim they are less likely to cook a Sunday roast, while a fifth (20%) are no longer baking as many cakes or biscuits, the poll of 2,005 adults and 1,007 children found.

Almost 18% claim they no longer switch the oven on at all.

Christine Hayes, the editor-in-chief of BBC Good Food, said: “These findings reveal the extent to which rising food prices and energy costs have impacted on the way the nation eats in a relatively short space of time.

“Traditional cooking methods, the oven and the hob, are being switched off in favour of appliances that use less energy, and shopping baskets and mealtimes at home are looking very different.”