Cost of Living crisis: Sunday roast in decline as a fifth of people not using oven

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.

Nearly a fifth (19%) say they are choosing ingredients that are faster to cook or looking for recipes that are speedier to prepare.

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 a fifth (18%) claim they no longer switch the oven on at all.

A fifth (20%) say they specifically look for money off or yellow “reduced” stickers on food when shopping, while 28% plan meals in advance and 23% batch cook to try to cut costs.

A third (34%) say they have stopped buying takeaways and 31% are eating out less often.

However, in a positive development, 64% said they were cutting back on food waste in order to save money, according to the survey by BBC Good Food.

The findings coincide with a YouGov poll suggesting that one in five Britons have been forced to cut spending on essential food items since November – up from 17% who said the same in July.

Among the lowest income households – those earning less than £20,000 a year – 28% say they have been forced to reduce spending on household essentials and 29% have had to make cuts to their staple food budget, the poll of 2,242 British adults this month indicates.

Even among households earning £60,000 or more per year, around one in nine (11%) have been forced to reduce spending on staple food items, according to the poll.