How many times do you go out to dinner in a week? Or buy a takeout? According to some of the experts in the Kiwi culinary scene, we're eating out more than ever before. So what's changed?
Mark Gregory is the founder of New Zealand's biggest restaurant booking network, Restuarant Hub, and Master of Culinary Arts. He spoke to the
Herald Focus
team about our growing habits for eating out and ordering in.
"If we look at what's happening, there are some interesting stats," says Gregory. "Here in New Zealand right now, people are eating out in the cities up to 3.5 times per week."
Marisa Bidois, Chief Executive of Restuarant Association, agrees with Mark's statistics, stating, "Around 3.5 sounds right, this is including take out, and all varieties of eating out."
This is a significant increase from the findings in the Consumer Dining Monitor report from 2012, which found that 13 per cent of Kiwis said they ate out a least once a week and only 5 per cent were 2-3 times a week.
On a global scale, we're still behind the likes of the US, where Gregory notes that the average American is currently eating out 5.5 times per week.
"Many restaurants have raised the game, and eating out is an absolute pleasure, and it should be."
But is this trend going to last? Gregory certainly thinks so.
"There is some interesting information there, we have all just come through the global financial crisis, eating and drinking outperformed [everything else]. People still wanted to have fun and they did that by eating out. So I don't see that changing at all."