Hot dogs are fastest growing dish on UK pub menus

The foodservice consultancy found that hot dogs with a gourmet twist are on 85% more menus this year than last. Pulled pork dishes, chicken wings and ribs are also in growth as well as American descriptions such as ‘black and blue steak’, ‘cobb salad’ and ‘slaw’.

Beef burgers remain the most frequently listed item with a 13% growth this year while steak is also growing in popularity. Meanwhile, traditional favourites including mixed grills, beef lasagne, Sunday lunch and chicken curry are showing the greatest decline.

"We have been surprised by these Menurama results, which show a significant growth of meat-based, American-style dishes across the menus of a broad selection of eating out establishments," commented Horizons’ director of services Nicola Knight. "Since last year we have also seen a decline in the use of healthy eating descriptions, perhaps as operators steer their menus towards indulgence."

The research also found that less meat is being served in meals with beef burgers at their lowest average weight since the survey began in summer 2010. The average is now 6.35oz, down from 7.69oz - a decline of 17%. Sirloin, fillet and gammon steaks are also being served in smaller portions down 8%, 7% and 4% respectively.

The average price of a main course burger in hospitality is £9.27 with a hot dog averaging £6.12.

"Against a backdrop of rising food costs and squeezed consumer spend, the reduction in weight of key meat dishes demonstrates that operators are having to become more savvy with regard to menu and price engineering," said Knight. "This could explain the huge growth in hot dogs on menus – they are relatively cheap to produce and operators can easily add value to them enabling them to charge more."