Will you be celebrating Great British Beef Week (23 April to 3 May) with a steak or a roast? It depends on your age, says a new poll!

In a survey amongst meat-eaters conducted by YouGov to find Britain’s favourite beef dish, steak topped the bill (29 per cent), beating roast beef into second place (23 per cent) and Spaghetti Bolognaise in third (14 per cent). However, delving deeper into the results showed that it was the younger meat eater generation championing steak, compared to the 55s and over, who clearly favoured a traditional roast.

Indeed, for the 18 to 24s, steak was a clear winner with three times more respondents picking it versus a roast (35 per cent versus 11 per cent). In contrast, over a third of people aged 55 and older said their favourite beef dish was a traditional roast (34 per cent) compared to 27 per cent for steak. Furthermore, Spaghetti Bolognaise was a hit with three times as many youngsters than the older generation (23 per cent versus eight per cent).

Ladies in Beef co-founder, Jilly Greed, said: “Eating habits have clearly changed over recent years, with younger consumers favouring more cosmopolitan-style dishes. What they didn’t disagree on, however, is that beef is a fantastically versatile meat, which is easy to cook with. Eight out of ten respondents who eat meat agreed that beef can be used in lots of versatile recipes (83 per cent), with cottage pie (eight per cent), chilli con carne (six per cent), beef casserole (six per cent) and beef curry (four per cent) picked as some of the other top choices.

“This is fantastic news for Great British Beef Week, which sets out to showcase the quality and versatility of assured British beef. It is also encouraging to note that seven out of 10 respondents prefer to buy British Beef (69 per cent), recognising the fantastic job the British beef farmers do in producing quality meat.”

The survey also looked at attitudes towards health. Just over half of respondents who eat meat (54 per cent) agreed that beef is good for you. However, a third remained undecided (34 per cent), not recognising the many vitamins and minerals contained in red meat.

Yorkshire beef farmer, Rosey Dunn, who is the face of this year’s GBBW, said: “Beef is an absolute power-pack of vitamins and minerals which are all vital for health. Not only is it nutrient dense, it is a major source of protein. What’s more, fully trimmed lean raw beef typically contains only five per cent fat. This combined with its versatility and all round enjoyment by consumers proves that British Beef really can ‘steak’ its claim as one of the nation’s favourite meats!

“So whatever your favourite dish, make sure your enjoy some quality British Beef this Great British Beef Week.”