Dinner party's last supper: research shines light on new wave of dining, 'the social supper'

• More than half of the UK have never attended a formal dinner party
• The traditional dinner party is dying out with half (47 per cent) of Brits preferring to host informal social suppers over dinner parties
• Hosts spend on average £36.70 on holding a social supper compared to the average £56.30 spent per dinner party
• The ‘social supper’ trend sees one in five hosts asking guests to bring a dish
   

Gone are the days of ramekins, prawn cocktails and white napkins, as three in five (63 per cent) people admit they have never hosted a ‘proper’ dinner party according to new research by Privilege Home insurance.

Instead the UK is embracing the ‘social supper’, with people attending and hosting 10 a year. More than two in five (43 per cent) prefer to attend more informal dinners at a friend’s home, and nearly the same number (47 per cent) preferring to host them too. This compares to just one in ten (eight per cent) who said they preferred to invite friends over for a more traditional three course dinner party.

Hosts spend an average of £36.70 on food and alcohol for their guests at social suppers, with one in five (18 per cent) hosts even asking their guests to bring a dish with them. By contrast, dinner parties cost an average of £56.30 on food and alcohol, with the majority of preparation done by the host, just one of the reasons why they are becoming less popular -named by 36 per cent.

In addition to the cost, fussy eaters (20 per cent), damage to the home (3 per cent), space for guests (11 per cent) and less pressure on cooking skills (35 per cent) are also being blamed for the death of the traditional dinner party.

The common dinner party culprit, red wine, had ruined clothing, carpets and sofas during two in five respondents’ dinner parties (19 per cent) and food stains were also noted for ruining clothes, carpets and sofas by 14 per cent. Additionally, 19 per cent had also experienced an item in the home being broken during dinner parties.

Regionally, Belfast is the most sociable city, with 20 per cent of residents there attending a social supper at least once a month, compared to only 9 per cent of people living in Newcastle - the least sociable city. When it comes to hosting friends, Nottingham sits bottom of the pile with just four per cent inviting others over at least once per month compared Belfast who remains the most sociable at 20 per cent.

Traditions of the dinner party have not carried over either, with 31 per cent of dinner party hosts expecting guests to bring a bottle of wine, whilst only one in ten of social supper hosts would expect guests to bring a gift. However, six per cent did say they are offended if a guest doesn’t bring a bottle, and a further 6 per cent would be offended if they didn’t share it.  

Curry is considered the most popular social supper meal with 32 per cent saying they’d be most likely to serve this compared to the least popular cuisine, sushi which is only served by only 4 per cent of hosts. Preparing food from scratch is clearly important to people too, with one in four (22 per cent) taking the extra time to make homemade pasta for their guests. Three in five (67 per cent) say they would never serve readymade food to guests, however, 47 per cent said they would dish up a takeaway. 

With the style of dining and the food served becoming more relaxed so are the hosts, with 61 per cent saying they feel more relaxed and spontaneous hosting a social supper over a dinner party. The reasons people prefer hosting social suppers include; feeling less judged on their cooking, compared to when hosting a dinner party (10 per cent), guests overstaying their welcome at dinner parties (4 per cent) and worrying less about the way the house looks (16 per cent). Many (18 per cent) are also concerned about forced and awkward conversation at dinner parties.

Social suppers are also more relaxing for guests with 23 per cent saying they feel less pressured to reciprocate hosting and 38 per cent feeling as though the hosts spend more time with them.

Christian Mendes, head of Privilege home insurance, said:

“We’ve all been in the position, at one time or another when we’ve kicked over a glass or dropped some food on the sofa. Accidents can happen at any time and especially when you’re entertaining friends and the wine’s flowing.
 

“This data highlights just how important it is to have a reliable insurance policy in place with accidental damage cover included to cover any damaged items. By having the correct policy in place, you can kick back and relax with your friends without having to worry about any little mishaps.”
 

Social Cities – The Most Social UK Cities, Ranked By Frequency of Dining Out

Source: Privilege Home Insurance

Death Of The Dinner Party – Most popular styles of food served at social suppers

Source: Privilege Home Insurance

ENDS

For more information, please contact: Georgia Andrewes at Richmond & Towers: 

georgia@rtc.london / 020 3179 0721

Notes to editors:

Research carried out amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,004 UK adults by Opinium Research between 13 to 17 April 2018.

Some city statistics indicative due to low sample sizes.

Privilege

Privilege Insurance specialises in car insurance for safe drivers. It also offers home insurance and breakdown cover by phone or on-line.

Privilege general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Privilege and UK Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.  

Customers can find out more about Privilege’s products or get a quote by calling 0345 246 0515 or visiting www.privilege.co.uk