The death of the sandwich: Britain’s favourite lunchtime meals
Growing demand for a more luxurious lunch among London workers is causing headaches for the sandwich market.
Salad has been elevated to Britain's favourite lunchtime food, it has been claimed.
The humble sandwich has been an internationally renowned staple of British cuisine for centuries – but times are a-changing.
A survey of 1,133 workers by Spitalfields Market revealed that Brits now crave wraps, salads and sushi, with only 15 per cent opting for the stodgy old sandwich, with a massive 42 per cent saying they regularly eat salads for lunch.
Whilst bread-based options including wraps, flatbreads and burgers all made the list of top five items Brits regularly choose for their lunches, the simple sandwich appeared just ninth on the list.
When quizzed on their favourite sandwich fillings, respondents treated time-honoured sandwich fillings such as ham and cheese with disdain. Instead, one in three people named avocado as their favourite filling, followed closely by pulled pork and smoked salmon.
A mere nine per cent proved to be staunch traditionalists with their choice of egg mayo.
The research also highlights how food choices vary across different age groups, with millennials far more likely to opt for fancier lunches, in contrast to middle-aged respondents.
Just five per cent of younger respondents claimed to make homemade sandwiches for their lunch every day.
Britain's top 10 lunch foods:
| Salads | 42 per cent |
| Wraps
|
37 per cent |
| Flatbreads
|
36 per cent |
| Sushi
|
31 per cent |
| Burgers
|
25 per cent |
| Soups
|
24 per cent |
| Pasta
|
24 per cent |
| Pizza
|
23 per cent |
| Sandwich
|
15 per cent |
| Leftovers
|
11 per cent |