The Sunday tradition of sitting down to a roast dinner with the family is a thing of the past, a study has found.

Just one in five of the 2,000 adults polled regularly sit down to the feast of a roast each weekend.

More than a fifth simply say they aren’t bothered about eating a Sunday roast, while 18 per cent claim they don’t have the time to cook it.

And more than one in ten reckon it’s a lot of time and effort for a meal that only takes 10 minutes to eat.

It also emerged that rather than having three square meals a day, Brits are favouring brunch and a late lunch on their day of rest.

Half of adults will now eat their first meal of the day after 10am on a Sunday, and enjoy the second meal around 3:10pm.

The British Cherries study found almost half of Brits think the Sunday dinner is a thing of the past, with 47 per cent saying the meal just isn’t important to them.

And it is younger generations who are more likely to ditch the Sunday dinner and opt for a mid-morning meal, with one sixth enjoying brunch more than once a week.

This is compared to 82 per cent of previous generations who sat down to a full roast every single week.

Women brunch more than men, although men are spending longer preparing their weekend wonders picking fruit over chocolate or sticky syrups.

In fact, men actually spend the same amount of time (fourteen minutes) preparing their brunch as they do picturing it – that’s almost half an hour preparing and photographing food to ensure that it’s camera and filter ready.

Symmetry Breakfast Instagram star, Michael Zee, says: “Brunch is reshaping the weekends of the nation, with more and more people preferring it to a traditional Sunday roast. It’s easy to see why.

“There are few meals that are more exciting than brunch. Where else can you catch up with friends in a glamorous setting, mull over the gossip of the week and take your time, preferably with a cocktail in hand and get the perfect shot for Instagram?”

Now, instead of a meal of meat and veg, two in five people are tucking into a fruit-loaded brunch, with one third opting for cherries as part of a fruit bowl or smoothie.

And whilst nearly a third of people would like to eat more cherries, seven in 10 people never think to have them as part of a breakfast or brunch.

Symmetry Breakfast Instagram star, Michael Zee, says: “I can think of no better accompaniment to brunch than the humble yet delicious British cherry. They are a delight to be celebrated. Perfect with pancakes, in a smoothie or simply on the side. They are the perfect excuse for excessive use of the cherry emoji.

“Not only are they full of nutrients and vitamins, the numerous health benefits from helping you get a better night’s sleep and even improving recovery after a workout will make them the unsung hero on your plate.”

By Emma Elsworthy

ENDS

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