Steak sales soar by 40% during lockdown as diners try to recreate restaurant meals in their own homes – with demand for gourmet salt, herbs and spices all rocketing
- Britons cooked half a billion more meals at home from scratch during lockdown
- Shoppers bought 24 million more herbs, spices and seasoning products
- Top ingredients were gourmet salt, Southern fried seasoning and tagine paste
Steak sales rise by 40% during lockdown along with demand for gourmet ingredients as Britons try to recreate restaurant meals at home, sales figures show.
As many parts of the country face new local lockdown restrictions, retailers have revealed how being stuck at home earlier this year encouraged people to cook fancy meals from scratch.
Supermarket Tesco said demand for steaks rose 40 per cent during the coronavirus lockdown from March to the end of May, compared to the same period last year.
Britons tried to recreate restaurant-style meals at home during lockdown
Sales of pricey gourmet salt also rose an incredible 2,600 per cent, Southern fried seasoning by 75 per cent and chicken by 15 per cent.
Shoppers across the country bought 24 million more herbs, spices and seasoning products in the first three months of lockdown compared to the same period last year, according to leading supplier British Pepper & Spice.
Others popular lockdown cooking ingredients included tagine paste – a base for Moroccan dishes – which saw sales at Tesco rise by 520 per cent, and crushed ginger, which was up 130 per cent.
Supermarkets also experienced booms in sales of chilli paste and spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika and cayenne pepper, while vegetable sales rose 40 per cent.
Sales of crushed ginger rose by 130 per cent while sales of gourmet salt also rose by 2,600 per cent
Ground nutmeg sales rose up to 70 per cent and tagine paste sales up to 520 per cent
Paul Curtis, Tesco cooking ingredients buying manager, said the store had seen ‘unprecedented demand’ for home-cooking ingredients.
He said: ‘During lockdown we noticed a big increase in sales of ingredients which are needed to make restaurant-style dishes from scratch at home. Products like herbs and spices, chicken and vegetables flew off the shelves much more quickly than during the same period last year.
‘We think the closure of customers’ favourite restaurants during lockdown, combined with everyone suddenly spending a lot more time at home, inspired many people to get creative and try to recreate their favourite dishes in their own kitchens.’
| Ingredient | Rise in sales |
|---|---|
| Gourmet salt Tagine paste Crushed ginger Garlic granules Chilli paste Southern fried seasoning Ground nutmeg Ground cinnamon Paprika Ground Cayenne pepper Vegetables Steaks Chicken |
up 2,600 per cent up 520 per cent up 130 per cent up 100 per cent up 80 per cent up 75 per cent up 70 per cent up 70 per cent up 60 per cent up 60 per cent up 40 per cent up 40 per cent up 15 per cent |
During the first 12 weeks of lockdown, Britons cooked half a billion more meals at home from scratch compared with the same period last year, according to retail analysts Kantar.
Our favourite lockdown meal was spaghetti Bolognese, followed by curry and vegetarian dishes.
British Pepper & Spice’s managing director Rachael Bouch added: ‘Judging by the sharp increase in demand, Brits will have spent more time honing their cookery skills in their kitchens than ever before since March.’