Mediterranean is most popular cuisine in Britain, survey finds

Britons now spend more than an hour a day cooking, and Mediterranean dishes are the most popular, a survey found.

Nearly three in five adults were inspired to cook by the food they tried on holiday, the survey of 1,000 adults for the cruise company Ocean Village found. British fare was the second favourite type of food, with Asian cuisine third.

The average time spent cooking was 69 minutes, but those looking to impress guests spent an average of one hour and 47 minutes cooking for dinner parties.

A third of the respondents described their cooking style as experimental and adventurous, with men more likely to be adventurous than women.

A further 20 per cent liked to cook challenging dishes but always followed a recipe. Only 22 per cent stuck to British dishes, with 16 per cent cooking whatever was at hand.

Twenty-five per cent cited learning more about food as one of the main reasons for choosing a holiday destination.

Sixty-one per cent said they were more adventurous in their menu choices when on holiday, and 58 per cent were inspired by the food they tried.

James Martin, a chef, said: "As a nation we are all travelling further afield compared to 10 years ago and this is heavily influencing our tastes. For example, ou wouldn't be able to find Thai ingredients in the supermarket a few years back but now we are finding an increasing number of aisles dedicated to foreign foods."