Young people shun recipe books in favour of TikTok tutorials

Nigella, Jamie, Delia — your time may be up, at least according to a new report on middle-class food trends.

The annual Waitrose Food & Drink report says younger Britons are ditching traditional recipe books in favour of a “freestyle approach” to cooking.

Instead of using kitchen classics, such as Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals or Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess, 18 to 34-year-olds are using “culinary hacks” learnt from TikTok and Instagram, the report says.

They are also being inspired by a new wave of “non-recipe” cookbooks, such as Easy Wins by Anna Jones and Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat, which do not include prescriptive recipes with precise instructions but instead offer “guiding principles” for dishes.

The authors of these books provide “elements you can dial up and down, allowing the cook to express themselves,” said Paul Gamble, the head development chef at Waitrose. The report, published today, notes that 70 per cent of its customers over the age of over 45 still use traditional cookbooks but this falls to 56 per cent in the 18 to 34 age range.

Instead, younger people take their inspiration from online food influencers, such as Gal Shua-Haim, an American dietitian who posts “simple, healthy recipes” on TikTok and Thomas Straker, a British chef who posts hearty classics to his 2.6 million followers on Instagram.

Waitrose says three-quarters of its younger customers report feeling confident making a meal without a recipe because of what they have seen on social media. Many are also posting their unconventional creations online.

“There’s been a rise in younger cooks embracing the no-recipe approach,” the report notes. “That means freestyling is where it’s at right now, to create simple, nourishing and stunning content for social media.” It adds: “This shift ties into several other key trends, including the reduction of food waste (use what vegetables and herbs you have, these cookbooks insist), and a focus on a few quality ingredients rather than long, rarefied lists.”

The report also documents dozens of other culinary trends that have grown in popularity over the past year, including the rise of “scratch cooking with shortcuts”. The supermarket chain explains that this means customers are shunning ready meals to make their own food but are using products that make cooking “quicker, cheaper or easier”, such as flavoured butters or prepared proteins such as marinated tofu.

The report notes: “The search for simple scratch-cooking ideas has also boosted sales of quality canned and jarred foods, including fish, legumes and vegetables.”

Waitrose, known as the middle classes’ favourite grocer, says the scratch-cooking trend is being driven by growing awareness of the health impacts of ultra-processed foods, inspired by Dr Chris van Tulleken’s bestselling book, Ultra-Processed People.

• The Times view on viral recipes: Freestyle Foodies

The supermarket chain’s survey of more than 3,000 of its customers found concerns over ultra-processed foods have encouraged nearly two thirds to do more cooking from scratch. Nearly two in five are even baking bread.

However, Britain’s middle-class shoppers are still not afraid to spoil themselves with unhealthy items. The report notes that “crookies” — croissants stuffed with cookie dough — hash browns and chocolate butter are among the indulgent items that have seen the biggest increases in demand over the past year.

The report also notes how its customers are increasingly adopting “zebra striping” when they drink, which is the practice of alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

It says: “The no and low trend is here to stay — not least because those who do like a drink are wanting in on it. Drinkers have, of course, long opted to have a glass of water alongside their wine or cocktail. But now the concept of alternating between an alcoholic drink and a non-alcoholic one looks increasingly palatable.”

Pierpaolo Petrassi, the head of the retailer’s beer, wine and spirits division added: “The way customers consume alcohol has changed. Where once a ‘session’ meant parking yourself in a pub for hours, now it’s become more syncopated, with food and a variety of different drinks that may or may not contain booze.”

What’s hot and what’s not

Waitrose customers are buying more…

• Crookies (a croissant stuffed with cookie dough)
• Peanut butter
• Instant noodles
• Hot honey
• Pistachios
• Bacchus wine
• Cream liqueurs
• Darker, complex rosé
• Full-fat milk
• Feta brine martini

But are losing interest in…

• Cronuts
• Honey
• Salted caramel
• Microwave rice
• Hazelnuts
• Sauvignon blanc
• Pale rosé
• Skimmed Milk
• Flavoured gin
• Gilda martini

This post was originally published on here