Back To The Table 2007 Press Release
More Mums Say 'I Made It Myself'
'The proliferation of cookery programmes, the concern about childhood obesity and worries over food additives have pushed food to the top of the parenting agenda. A generation ago, cooking was a chore and food was fuel. Now what we cook for our kids is a statement about how we parent today.'
Dr Pat Spungin, psychologist and founder of Raisingkids.co.uk
Supermarket shelves may be groaning with ready meals, but a new survey of over 2500 parents shows that despite being more time-strapped than their own parents, modern families are turning their back on convenience foods and making food from scratch.
70% of the parents surveyed to mark this year's Back to the Table Week said they made their own pasta sauce. More than half had baked their own bread, 62% had started burgers from scratch and 68% of parents had made their child's birthday cake themselves.
Just Like Mother Used To Make?
The parents, who were surveyed by parenting site Raisingkids.co.uk, said they were more passionate, inventive and conscious about what they cook for their kids than their own parents.
Nearly half of those surveyed (47%) said they loved to cook and were always experimenting with new dishes. 61% said they were much more interested in food than their mothers had been.
Lest this all sounds too rosy, nearly four out of ten parents agreed with the statement ‘I am quite a good cook but I would prefer to be doing something else.’ A small group of 7% said they didn't like cooking at all.
Sunday Best
Some things don't change. The Sunday roast is number one choice when asked about their favourite dish from childhood. And surprisingly, although modern parents cook a greater variety of food than their own mums, including pastas, curries and stir-fries, it's the traditional roast that is their 'signature dish',- their family’s favourite.
Any man who secretly thinks his wife's cooking isn't quite up to his mother's, is well advised to keep his opinion to himself. Nearly 70% of the women surveyed said their partners 'wouldn't dare' to compare their cooking to their mother-in-law's and over a quarter had been told their cooking was better.
Jamie's Generation
Interest in how and what we cook is trickling down to a new generation. 70% of the parents surveyed said they cooked or baked for fun with their kids – with 52% sitting down to watch cookery programmes as a family. Chief among chefs is Jamie Oliver with more than a third (36.1%) of families saying he is an inspiration.
Back To The Table Week runs from 1-7 October 2007.
Back To The Table Week begins its annual campaign on Monday 1 October 2007 with the launch of the campaign site www.backtothetable.co.uk.
This campaign to encourage families to eat is now in its fourth year and has received widespread support including plaudits from Gordon Ramsay and Annabel Karmel, Dr Tanya Byron, actress Emma Thompson and writer Sue Palmer.
Notes To Editors:
The Way We Eat Now survey was carried out in September 2007.
The sample size was 2687 parents from the Raisingkids.co.uk registered database, which is representative of the UK population as a whole.
About raisingkids.co.uk
• The UK’s leading parenting website
• Online since May 2001
• Over 85,000 registered members
• 180,000 unique visitors per month
Both Dr Spungin and Catherine Hanly, Editor of www.raisingkids.co.uk, are available for interview and comment on this survey.
Dr Pat Spungin
Email pspungin@raisingkids.co.uk
Catherine Hanly
Email editor@raisingkids.co.uk
Telephone:
0208 444 4852
0208 883 8621
What The Press Say:
To read the media response to this year and previous years' campaigns, click here.
