Gen Z shun the ‘greasy and high-calorie’ classic fry-up with one in ten never eating the famous dish
19 April 2024, 09:33
Young Brits don’t like the traditional breakfast fry-up because the dish is too greasy and has too many calories, according to a survey.
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Gen-Z think the traditional fry-up of sausage, bacon, egg, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, fried egg and toast or fried bread is too fatty, and takes too long to make.
A survey of 18 to 24-year-olds revealed a quarter hardly ever eat the dish, and one person in ten never does.
Lydia Baker, marketing manager at Breville, who commissioned the survey, says she thinks Gen Z is turning away from the fry-up after being turned against it by health influencers on social media.
She said: “Social media has spread an endless number of accounts giving advice on what’s ‘good’ and ‘bad’ to eat, with the humble fry-up often falling into the latter camp.”
Zoe McClean, senior home economist at Breville, said: “A fried breakfast is quite an involved process with lots of moving parts, which means there are lots of opportunities for improvement. The way you prepare something is almost as important as what you're making.”
A 2003 book Classic Cafes estimated that Britain only had around 500 traditional greasy spoon cafes left that serve proper full English breakfasts.
Isaac Rangaswami, who runs the Instagram account @caffs_not_cafes, which chronicles classic eateries, believes the total number is now closer to 50.
