Will you be celebrating Great British Beef Week (23 April to 3 May) with a steak or a roast? It depends on your age, says a poll amongst meat-eaters conducted by YouGov to find Britain’s favourite beef dish.
Steak topped the bill (29%), beating roast beef into second place (23%) and Spaghetti Bolognaise in third (14%). However, delving deeper into the results showed that it was the younger meat eater generation championing steak, compared to the 55’s and over, who clearly favoured a traditional roast.
Steak wins for 18 to 24’s
Indeed, for the 18 to 24’s, steak was a clear winner with three times more respondents picking it versus a roast (35% versus 11%). In contrast, over a third of people aged 55 and older said their favourite beef dish was a traditional roast (34%) compared to 27% for steak. Furthermore, Spaghetti Bolognaise was a hit with three times as many youngsters than the older generation (23% versus 8%).
Beef is versatile
Ladies in Beef co-founder, Jilly Greed, said: “Eating habits have clearly changed over recent years, with younger consumers favouring more cosmopolitan-style dishes. What they didn’t disagree on, however, is that beef is a fantastically versatile meat, which is easy to cook with. Eight out of ten respondents who eat meat agreed that beef can be used in lots of versatile recipes (83%), with cottage pie (8%), chilli con carne (6%), beef casserole (6%) and beef curry (4%) picked as some of the other top choices.
Showcasing British beef
“This is fantastic news for Great British Beef Week, which sets out to showcase the quality and versatility of assured British beef. It is also encouraging to note that seven out of 10 respondents prefer to buy British Beef (69%), recognising the fantastic job the British beef farmers do in producing quality meat.”
Health
The survey also looked at attitudes towards health. Just over half of respondents who eat meat (54%) agreed that beef is good for you. However, a third remained undecided (34%), not recognising the many vitamins and minerals contained in red meat.
Yorkshire beef farmer, Rosey Dunn, who is the face of this year’s GBBW, said: “Beef is an absolute power-pack of vitamins and minerals which are all vital for health. Not only is it nutrient dense, it is a major source of protein. What’s more, fully trimmed lean raw beef typically contains only 5% fat. This combined with its versatility and all round enjoyment by consumers proves that British Beef really can ‘steak’ its claim as one of the nation’s favourite meats!”
Ladies in Beef is an association of female beef farmers who are simply passionate about the beef which they produce. Ladies in Beef was officially launched in March 2011 at a reception hosted by HRH The Princess Royal.
Great British Beef Week is a PR initiative organised by Ladies in Beef and timed to coincide with St George’s Day each year (23rd April)
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