Meals and Mealtimes in Britain

In the UK they have many different names for mealtimes, including ‘Breakfast’, ‘Brunch’, ‘Elevenses’, ‘Lunch’, ‘Tea’, ‘Dinner’ and ‘Supper’. What people eat and when can vary greatly – in some parts of the UK, people may eat their meals at different times, and in some parts of the UK, ‘dinner’ means ‘lunch’, and ‘supper’ means ‘dinner’.

Nowadays, people usually eat breakfast between 7:00 am and 9:00 am. Breakfast is considered a very important meal, and is essential to having a good start to the day. In fact, once a year there is a weekly campaign called ‘Think Breakfast’ to encourage people to eat better breakfast! A traditional English breakfast includes sausages, bacon, fried eggs, mushrooms, baked beans, fried tomatoes, and toast with butter. However, these days most people don’t eat a traditional breakfast every day, or even at all. This is because it is very unhealthy, and many people don’t have time to cook. These days, most people eat a bowl of cereal (made from grains like corn, wheat and oats) with milk, or have a slice of toast with butter. In the winter many people eat a hot cereal called ‘porridge’, which is made from oats. This is especially popular in Scotland.

Lunch is normally eaten between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm. Because school-children and people at work are very busy, this is normally a quick meal. In fact, many parents give their children a ‘packed lunch’ in a plastic ‘lunch-box’. This usually consists of a sandwich and a packet of crisps, a piece of fruit and a drink. However, on Sunday people usually have a longer and larger lunch called ‘Sunday Roast’.

Dinner is eaten in the evening. Children usually eat this earlier, at about 6:30 pm, though many adults eat later, between 7:00 and 8:00 or later. This is usually the main meal of the day, and a time for people to relax and enjoy a cooked meal with friends or family after a hard day at work.