Despite the title of this blog, it is fair to say that there really is no perfect eating out concept. We all know that where we want to eat out depends entirely on the occasion, location, mood, our food preferences, company you are in, how long it is until pay day and a myriad of other factors. However, that said, we thought it might be interesting to distil the latest MCA Eating Out Report findings to hypothesize the perfect eating out concept based on what currently seems to be hitting the mark.

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As temperatures rise and we head to the seaside this summer, what better treat than fish & chips (with lots of salt & vinegar) enjoyed on the beach, as the waves break on the pebbles and the sun sets. Mmmm…you can just taste them now can’t you? But if that vision hasn’t already made you run straight to your nearest chippie, you might be interested to know a little about the history of the Great British fish & chips. Currently the Federation of Fish Fryers estimates there are in the region of 10,500 specialist fish & chip shops in the UK, more than McDonalds or KFC. They are predominately independent, with some obvious exceptions such as Harry Ramsden’s, and serve hungry punters around 167 million portions of fish & chips every year. That’s six servings for every man, woman and child! In fact, our annual spend on fish & chips in the UK is in the region of a staggering £1.2 billion, with 80% of people visiting fish & chip shops at least once a year and 22% every week (possibly not the healthiest of consumers), while 56% of people buy fish and chips to eat in the home as a family.

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With our annual pilgrimage to the foodie paradise of Padstow on the North Cornish Coast set for June, my thoughts have been wandering to the joy that is a Cornish Pasty wolfed down in the county of its origin. As you look out over the harbour and the crumbly pastry gives way to a perfectly seasoned mix of piping hot meat, swede, onion and potatoes all seems right with the world. But how did this classic Cornish fayre come about? In this latest addition of our ‘History of…’ series I look at the culinary delight that is the Cornish pasty.

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Britain is a nation of animal lovers. The PDSA estimates that 24% of the UK adult population own a dog with an estimated population of 8.9 million pet dogs in the UK. So with so many of us devoted to our furry friends it makes good business sense to pander to our pets and offer dog friendly dining and accommodation. Once the domain of the country pub, fine dining restaurants and hotels across the UK are embracing the ‘hound pound’ as a valuable revenue stream.

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Veganuary is here, with every man and his dog jumping on the vegan bang wagon, it’s hard to avoid this upgrade to the standard ‘New Year, New You’ start to 2019.

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For four days in December you can find pretty much any celeb chef worth their salt in Padstow, Cornwall. Often referred to as ‘Padstein’ due to Rick Stein’s prevalence, for the four days of the Padstow Christmas Festival the rest of them also get to have their share of the limelight. As a regular visitor to this foodie haunt of the South West, this was the first time we had ventured down for the Christmas Festival. The weather wasn’t quite what we had ordered, but despite the high winds and torrential rain that buffered the marquees, the festival lived up to the hype with an incredible line-up of chefs and local suppliers in attendance, not to mention the fireworks, live music, Santa fun run and cycle, lantern procession, Christmas market and the Just Add Beer Cook Book from Sharps Brewery in aid of one of our favourite charities Hospitality Action.

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