Tesco Real Food Reveals French Food Becomes UK's Fastest Growing Cuisine

CHESHUNT, England, March 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tesco Real Food has revealed that French food has become the fastest-growing cuisine in the UK.

In the last year, volume sales of French ready-made meals and desserts from all retailers have grown by 16 per cent, according to independent retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel (Jan 2011).

At Tesco the growth is even higher - rising at 27 per cent year on year - and the demand has prompted the supermarket to launch its first ever dedicated range called French Classics.

In that time it has seen the following volume sales rises for French dishes:

- Chicken Chasseur - 226 per cent

- Steak Diane - 32 per cent

- Coq au Vin - 34 per cent

- Steak au Poivre - 37 per cent

- Salmon en Croute - 73 per cent

- Tarte Au Citrons - 82 per cent

Tesco food developer Stephanie Bacon, who helped create the French Classic range, said: "French food has never been more popular in Britain than it is right now and that may seem unusual given the tough economic times because it's a cuisine which has always been perceived as being expensive.

"However, with less money to eat our shoppers have been treating themselves to upmarket dishes at home in order to replicate the restaurant dining experience in their own homes.

"We initially saw sales soar after the launch of our Restaurant Collection - which features several French dishes - two years ago and decided to create a dedicated range in the autumn which is outperforming all expectations."

The top five fastest growing cuisines in the UK are French (16 per cent), Chinese food (15 per cent), British (6.7 per cent), Italian (6.6 per cent) and Tex-Mex (3.2 per cent).

Tesco is already planning to add to its French range in the spring with Beef Bourguignon, Chicken Diane and Crab Gratin being added. The dishes were created by chefs who have worked in restaurants which have been awarded Michelin Stars. Tesco Real Food also features a number of French recipes, including classic French remoulade, for anyone who wants to try their hand at creating a dish of their own.

About Tesco Real Food:

The Tesco Real Food website is packed with thousands of inspiring recipes to suit any occasion. Whether customers are looking for a quick mid-week meal for the family or something for a special event, visitors are sure to find exactly what they're looking for. In addition, a range of step-by-step cooking tips and videos to help improve kitchen skills can be found, as well as healthy eating and cooking with kids sections. To make shopping even easier, every recipe has a ready-made shopping list that can be used to add all the ingredients to the shopping basket in just a few clicks.

SOURCE Tesco Real Food