Buon appetito – Britons love foreign food

BRITONS have a taste for the exotic, with six in ten of our favourite meals originating abroad, a new study has found.

It appears we have a particular taste for Italian and French flavours, which together account for 24 per cent of the estimated 13 billion evening meals prepared in British homes last year.

However, the good old British staples of bangers and mash, shepherd's pie and casserole still feature regularly on kitchen tables across the country, accounting for four in every ten meals dished up.

"While some people may bemoan the lack of a strong national culinary heritage in Britain, it's clear that we Brits are actually some of the most adventurous and cosmopolitan foodies in the world," said Sarah Riddolls, of Cauldron Foods, which commissioned the study.

Market researchers Kantar interviewed 11,000 people for the study, which was carried out during the course of last year.

They found that Italian food was the most popular, coming out ahead of French and Indian dishes.

They were followed by American food, such as hot dogs or burgers, with Chinese, Mexican and Greek next on the list.