UK cuts back on cooking Sunday roasts as energy bills soar | Energy bills

More than a third of people in the UK have cut back on cooking Sunday roasts because of the soaring cost of energy bills, according to a survey.

A total of 36% of UK adults said the cost of living crisis had made them reconsider a homemade roast dinner at the end of the week. The figure was even higher among those aged 16 to 34, with nearly half (47%) saying they have avoided cookingroasts.

The survey, which was carried out by Opinium for Tesco, found 38% of the 2,000 adults polled felt too overwhelmed by the prospect of spending Sunday cooking a lengthy roast.

More than a quarter (28%) of respondents said they would cook a Sunday roast more often if they had access to an air-fryer, while almost half (46%) said they would like to find a more cost-efficient way of doing a roast.

From April, it is expected that energy bills will rise by about 40% for millions of households as the rebate scheme ends and the chancellor lets the price cap go up to £3,000. Charities have found that one in four households regularly run out of money for essentials.

Air-fryers and slow cookers, which use less energy than a conventional cooker or oven, have been in great demand because of consumers’ concerns about soaring energy bills and other living costs. According to the survey, a third (31%) of UK adults have access to an air-fryer, while nearly half (46%) have access to a slow cooker.

Inflation has resulted in the average annual food shop bill increasing by £788, reaching its highest levels since the market research firm Kantar began tracking the figures in 2008, with the price of milk, eggs and dog food rising fastest.

Jamie Robinson, the executive chef at Tesco, said: “The rise in energy costs is understandably leading many of us to look for the most efficient ways of cooking, from using existing store cupboard ingredients, cooking from scratch, and looking at alternative cooking methods to an oven.

“However, whichever way you cook it, the core components of any Sunday roast – a tender cut of meat, perfectly risen yorkshire puddings, crispy roast potatoes and delicious vegetable sides, can be easily achieved.”