New research conducted by Brasserie Blanc, Raymond Blanc’s 17-strong group of French brasseries headed up by CEO Mark Derry, revealed a demand for high street restaurants to up their game when it comes to the dishes on menus. Respondents deemed food from many high street restaurants far too basic and expressed a want for more adventurous dishes such as game and offal.
Ahead of Brasserie Blanc’s new ‘Flavour Adventures’ campaign – encouraging diners to try new flavours and broaden their dining horizons – the survey unveiled key information about UK consumers’ eating habits and what they want to see more of on menus.
Prompted by Brasserie Blanc’s sales figures which revealed that twice as many diners last winter opted for wild venison casserole over roast chicken and a fifth more diners chose snails over goats cheese salad*, the restaurant group surveyed 2,000 people across the UK and found:
Men (55%) are more adventurous than women (43%) when it comes to the dishes they would try, and double the amount of men would try steak tartare than women.
Londoners are the most experimental with 70% considering themselves adventurous eaters whilst those from Yorkshire considered themselves the least.
62% of total respondents said the food from many high street restaurant chains was far too basic, whilst 74% of 18-34 year olds wished that high street restaurant menus were more inspiring and dishes more daring.
18-24 year olds are most likely to try new and different foods with the desire to experiment peaking at the age of 20, and 65% of 18-24 year olds also stated that they would try game and offal if it was available on a high street menu.
Parents are encouraging their children to step out of their comfort zone with 33% of parents surveyed saying that their children have tried liver, 23% have tried sushi, 22% have tried venison and even 3.5% have tried brains.
72% of total respondents said their parents inspired them to eat more adventurously.
The survey also revealed that, surprisingly, people are more adventurous when dining out in restaurants than they would be when dining at home.
85% of respondents indicated that they expected to find the likes of snails, boudin blanc and pigs’ cheeks in fine dining restaurants rather than a chain. However, unlike many of its competitors, Brasserie Blanc is challenging this notion with the inclusion of signature dishes such as slow-braised Lincolnshire pigs’ cheeks; 18-hour venison casserole; snails bourguignon; and boudin blanc with woodland mushrooms.
Mark Derry, CEO of Brasserie Bar Co. commented: “Our sales and the findings from this study represent a desire from consumers for more exciting and daring dishes, especially when they eat out. Diners are getting increasingly adventurous, particularly the younger audience and, as an industry, we must react to this demand by ensuring we are making these dishes more accessible and at a reasonable price.
“At Brasserie Blanc, we have always strived to offer more challenging dishes among our classics and traditional French favourites – specials such as lamb’s heart and ox tongue have been hugely popular and our a la carte rabbit dish was one of our best sellers last winter. To see more adventurous dishes such as snails and game beating simple dishes like goats cheese salad and roast chicken is fascinating and clearly illustrates that people want more from their dining experience.”
Brasserie Blanc’s Flavour Adventures campaign launches this January and will see a ‘Festival of Flavour’ week take place from 11 – 17th April 2016. A series of interactive consumer events and master classes will take place across all Brasserie Blanc restaurants, which aim to engage consumers in their dining experience, drive footfall, and position Brasserie Blanc as unique in their approach to food.
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