Fried chicken and duck are on the menu for Gen Z this Christmas, study shows

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Research has shown that the younger generation are ditching traditional hallmarks of Christmas dinner for lighter or vegan alternatives, with duck said to be new turkey for Gen Z.

If your Christmas Day chefs were born after 1997, there’s a good chance your beloved turkey and all the trimmings will undergo a radical change, with vegan pigs in blankets and dairy free bread sauce featured on the plate.

Online supermarket Ocado found that a third more of their customers plan to present a non-traditional centrepiece this year, with a third of Gen Z considering duck for Christmas Day.

With vegan alternatives also rising in popularity among 18 to 24-year-olds, one in five are said to be looking at cooking a mushroom wellington or a nut roast.

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Also having a boom this Christmas are Yorkshire puddings, which are not usually considered a traditional staple of your classic festive dinner, despite being popular among all ages.

Sales have risen by 147 per cent compared with last year, with the older generation said to be driving this trend. Two fifths of shoppers aged over 55 think they are an essential this winter, compared to only a quarter of Gen Z.

Cauliflower cheese is also likely to make an appearance on several dinner tables this Christmas, but in a different form. Dairy-free versions have risen in popularity, with one in six young people opting for a vegan option.

Vegan pigs in blankets are also selling quickly off the shelves, while one in five have said they are using coconut oil to roast potatoes, instead of the traditional goose fat.

Meanwhile, other more alternative options have also become increasingly popular, with over a fifth of Gen Z considering fried chicken to be an essential to Christmas Day.

Laura Harricks, chief customer officer at Ocado, said: “While many of the Christmas items we know and love are still selling well, this data shows that younger shoppers are enjoying Christmas in their own way.”