Mitchells & Butlers: 1 million people will be eating out on Christmas Day

Over 1 million people in the UK will be dining out on Christmas Day, according to research from pub and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butlers. That’s a 20% increase from last year.

Catriona Kempston, Marketing Director at Mitchells & Butlers said that although cooking at home is still the most common trend, dining out is definitely starting to catch up. “Our pubs and restaurants want to give families the gift of time to share Christmas Day with each other, not their kitchen sink,” she added.

The increased demand means the operator has 72,000 turkeys, 2,500 tonnes of potatoes, 235 tonnes of Brussels sprouts and 103,000 mince pies on order across pubs and restaurants like Harvester, Toby Carvery, O’Neill’s, Miller and Carter and Ember Inns.

Of the 250,000 meals already on order, turkey is the favourite, but chocolate brownies are outselling Christmas pudding, and in Harvester nearly 50% of the meals set to be served will not be turkey.

We apparently spend nine hours preparing, cooking and clearing away after Christmas dinner, and it costs the average family £178 to cook at home. Compare to this to the average cost if dining out on Christmas day, £52.28, and it’s no wonder why many people are choosing to eat out.

Research also indicates that sales for gift cards for the group’s restaurants will be up 34% from last year.

Those looking to cook at home can head here for some Toby Carvery tips on creating the perfect roast.

See our post on who's serving Christmas dinner here.