The history of the roast dinner

Food historian Seren Charrington-Hollins has tracked the evolution of the Sunday roast from its humble beginnings of boiled beef, broad beans and cabbage 100 years ago to today's culinary tour de force.

The expert explains how the roast has become something of a centre piece to the family table, now including anything from plant-based meat to chips, salmon and even macaroni cheese.

Yorkshire puddings, beef and roast potatoes have been a constant part of the English favourite since the 1920s, but a new video shows how things have evolved, with dinner tables now filled with vegetarian and vegan options.

And a survey of 2,000 Brits that was carried out alongside the creation of the animation found a roast dinner is the favourite meal of the week for 40 per cent.

Seren Charrington-Hollins, who is working with Aunt Bessie’s, which conducted the research, said: "The roast has been an English tradition for hundreds of years and it is definitely here to stay.

“It is a British institution and indeed it's long been considered the staple backbone of the British diet.

“A roast dinner a hundred years ago was a simple affair - roast meat with seasonal vegetables, but it has swelled in terms of portion and variety and today the roast dinner is as diverse as the diners themselves.”

The video goes back as far as the 1920’s where meat, such as beef, was classed as a luxury and for the rich, but boiled potatoes and seasonal vegetables were a staple part of the meal in every household.

The 1950s saw the introduction of Yorkshire puddings that was favoured with the popular meat - beef, and pigs in blankets - which have since become a Christmas staple - started hitting the plates as portions began growing in size.

By the 1980s, Brits began taking short cuts when cooking as they had less time to prepare and the 90s saw vegetarian versions of the roast becoming more mainstream.

A tradition here to stay

The research found 79 per cent of respondents believe a Sunday roast is a British tradition that is here to stay.

Chicken came out on top as the most common meat to take centre stage at every roast dinner affair.

Beef came second, while pork is a regular fixture, followed turkey.

And while trimmings such as roast potatoes and meat remain firm favourites, as many as one in 10 people will consider adding macaroni cheese, rice, or roasted peppers to the plate.

While the study shows baked beans, noodles and even cous cous are included by more than one in 20 adults in the OnePoll figures.