Sunday roast. A meal built for a house we no longer build.
The Sunday roast now costs 25 to 30 quid in a London pub and rising. Nearly half of us plan to cook less at home, yet we still go out for one, because the Sunday it was made for barely exists.
THE GIST ON SUNDAY ROAST: "A meal built for a house we no longer build"
What has happened to the roast?
It's now one of the most expensive meals on a pub menu: 25 to 30 quid in a London pub and rising. Nearly half of us are planning to cook less from home this year. And yet we're still going out for one.
What was the roast designed for?
A specific kind of Sunday. Big household, everyone home. Someone, usually your mum, in the kitchen for at least three hours, and the whole afternoon spent over the meal. A joint that big only makes sense if at least six people are eating it. Yorkshire puddings were designed to make it go even further.
It was a meal built for a full house on a slow day.
Who lives like that now?
Smaller households, grandparents in another town, kids probably at football, you might be working. No one has three hours to give to cooking it. So a meal that needed a big Sunday moved to a venue that could accommodate it: the pub. Someone else cooks, someone else cleans, you pay.
Is it only the roast?
It's happening to so many rituals that used to live at home. Christmas dinners booked in hotels, kids' parties in soft play centres, family Sunday in a pub garden. The rituals still exist, but now they come at a cost, at someone else's venue.
British homes have got smaller over 40 years. New builds have the smallest floor space in Europe. Kitchens have been cut in half and dining rooms are optional. The roast was designed for a house Britain barely builds any more, which is why we're paying 30 quid a head. Lamb, pork, beef or chicken today?
Roast at the pub or at home?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How much is a Sunday roast in a London pub?
Huw says 25 to 30 quid and rising.
Why did the roast move to the pub?
Smaller households and less time mean few people can cook for six for three hours, and homes have smaller kitchens and dining rooms.
Is it just the roast?
No. Christmas dinners in hotels and kids' parties in soft play centres are the same pattern.
See you on the next one.
What should the next one be? Suggest a topic for Huw to explain
The conversation
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