An insatiable appetite for TV cookery shows has had little impact on the variety of food served in the average home, according to new research.

Just six dishes account for the most frequent meals in 98 per cent of British households despite the best efforts of Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay.

A group of more than 1,400 families were questioned on the meals they cooked most often. Almost a third (30 per cent) prepared roast chicken most regularly, with spaghetti bolognese (27 per cent) and stir fry (12 per cent) the next most popular. Then came sausage and mash at 12 per cent, followed by curries (10 per cent) and pork chops (7 per cent).

Only 2 per cent of the families said that they cooked another dish most often.

The survey was conducted by the What’s for Dinner Club, which aims to encourage families to be more adventurous in their cooking.

Asked why they did not try out new recipes, 37 per cent said they were worried their family would not like them, 32 per cent said that they could not remember how to cook any other meals and 31 per cent said that they “couldn’t be bothered”.

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