This Valentine’s Day, Kallø has been on the hunt to uncover Brits’ most avoided (and most loved) first date recipes… and make impressing a new love interest that much ‘squ’easier’ with its tasty new stock paste (see what we did there?!)
From spilling bolognese on your new white blouse to trying (and failing) to cook a complicated dish – we’ve all been there when it comes to first date culinary disasters.
So it’s no surprise that Brits have named a spicy curry as the worst food to eat on a date, with two thirds ‘uncomfortable’ when eating messy food in front of a potential love interest.
A poll of 2,000 adults, commissioned by Kallø, also found spaghetti dishes, ribs and corn on the cob are the top foods to avoid at all costs, along with oysters (usually dubbed the food of love) and noodles.
Just a fifth of adults would feel confident eating spaghetti or noodles on a date, with seven in 10 believing there is a fine art to eating them politely.
As a result, almost four in 10 consider how hard a food will be to eat before choosing a romantic meal to eat or cook, while 28 per cent assess whether it will get stuck in their teeth.
And almost seven in 10 believe it is important to select the least messy food possible on a first date – with epic food spills coming out top of Brits most embarrassing first date disasters.
CiCi Coleman, Britain’s most famous waitress, who has teamed up with Kallø, said:
“I have seen a lot of first dates in my time and lots can go wrong – from drink spillages and getting food stuck in your teeth to even your date leaving halfway through. It’s really no wonder Brits try and mitigate anything embarrassing happening when it comes to food – especially when they’re cooking at home. For me, chicken and rice dishes are such a great date options as they’re easy to cook and eat politely (not like slurping noodles and spaghetti or nibbling on BBQ ribs)”.
CiCi’s Top Tips:
- Avoid food that is hard to eat – messy eating doesn’t make the best impression
- Wear something that you feel comfortable in
- If you are cooking for them, make sure you find a quick recipe – don’t want to leave them waiting
- Also, choose to make something easy (so it doesn’t all go wrong) but also something full of flavour to really impress
- Always be honest and make sure you’re asking questions back
The survey also found more than two thirds feel nervous when cooking for a new date, as only half consider themselves a good chef. According to the findings, the average Brit only feels comfortable cooking for someone after three dates.
Despite nerves in the kitchen, food is still clearly the way to many Brits’ hearts, with 47 per cent of people revealing their idea of a perfect date is being cooked for.
For Brits looking to achieve first date success, top considerations when deciding what to cook include how easy it is to make (54 per cent), followed closely by how tasty it is (53 per cent) and how long it takes to prepare (44 per cent).
Although almost a quarter admitted to trying to cook something fancy just to impress – and a cheeky 13 per cent even confessed to buying a takeaway and passing it off as their own culinary creation to wow their date.
Risotto, a roast dinner and chicken dishes proved the most popular romantic meals, but daters would avoid preparing sushi, oysters and noodles.
