Brit poll: Italian cuisine the best in Europe

British people think Italian food is the best in Europe, which reflects the popularity of pizza and pasta as well as famous Italian gourmet products, according to latest Holiday Hypermarket’s poll. British food was second-most popular, followed by French and Spanish cuisines.

Calum MacDonald, Marketing Manager at Holiday Hypermarket, comments: “Food is an integral part of any trip abroad, and sharing meals with your fellow travellers is often where memories are made. There are so many fantastic foods in Europe that it can be hard to decide where to visit, so we thought we’d make it easier and find out which cuisines people like the best.”

The online poll of 2,068 people in the UK asked the question: “Which European country do you think has the best national cuisine?” Italy was the most popular with 30 per cent, followed by the UK with 22 per cent, France with 12 per cent, Spain with six per cent and Greece with three per cent.

Age also played a big role in people’s preferences: respondents over 55 are more likely to think British food is the best (26 per cent of those 55+, vs. 14 per cent of those 18-34), while younger respondents prefer easy Italian food (41 per cent of those 18-34 vs. 22 per cent of those 55+). While both men and women prefer Italian food over British overall, more men chose hardy British food than women (25 per cent vs. 19 per cent), while Italian food is more popular with women than men (33 per cent vs. 27 per cent).

Italian food has entered the mainstream with pizza and pasta on offer in restaurants around the world, and visiting a winery or sipping an espresso is an integral part of holidays [http://www.holidayhypermarket.co.uk ] to Italy. Britain’s strong showing may surprise some, considering the poor reputation of British food, but 42 foods from the UK have been granted protected geographical status under European law and the island nation offers excellent fish, meat, cheese and produce.

MacDonald concludes: “European food is famous around the world for its quality and variety, and we hope that visitors to Italy, Britain and the rest of Europe get the opportunity to explore each nation’s unique cuisine.”

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,068 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 3rd – 5th April 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).