As temperatures drop and the classic Sunday roast is firmly back on the menu, Bestway Wholesale reveals the nation’s favourite condiments for the Great British roast.
A long-standing tradition, the roast dinner has a special place in the nation’s hearts. New research has ranked the pub roast the sixth most unmissable experience for visitors1, with pub lunch roasts growing their share from 11% to 12.1% since Q2 2018.2
To understand each region’s take on the Great British roast, Bestway explored the nation’s online conversations using social listening tool Delve Insights, and analysed sales data from its nationwide depots over the past 12 months.
The regional condiment champions
• Yorkshire and the North East are swimming in gravy, as the biggest consumers in the country. Bisto is their favourite brand, buying over six times the amount Southerners do (who consume the least of all regions). This part of the country also buys the most horseradish.
• Londoners and the Midlands like to turn up the heat with English mustard (Colman’s of course!), buying over nine times more than the North West. Scotland is the biggest champion of the milder mustards. From wholegrain to French and Dijon, Scotland’s serving up more than any other region.
• Meanwhile in the North West, mint sauce tops the list over all other traditional Sunday sauces.
On social media, the top three most talked about condiments were gravy (dominating 62% of the condiment conversation), mustard (16%) and apple sauce (12%).
David Livingstone, Head of Catering at Bestway Wholesale, said, “The Sunday roast is such a British staple. The meat and two veg is a given but, when it comes to condiments, we’ve seen that tastes between regions can differ greatly with each part of the country championing a different accompaniment.
“Lashings of gravy is a basic requirement but it’s no longer a case of pairing sauces with a particular meat. British consumers like to mix it up - mint sauce with chicken, lamb and mustard, and so on.
'There’s no straightforward couplings anymore so it’s important pubs, restaurants and bars always provide a wide variety of options and don’t pigeonhole their customers based on the most popular centre of plate.”
The nation is also mixing it up with roast and drink pairings. Surprisingly, beer is the most talked about drink pairing for roast dinners online (instead of wine), dominating a significant 79% of the conversation.
Bestway Wholesale is a supply partner to over 70,000 independent retailers and 40,000 catering and foodservice operators, and operates in 65 depots across the UK.