The supermarket Aldi says it expects to sell 43 million pigs-in-blankets this year, up from 38 million in 2022, while polling from YouGov claims the dish is the tenth most famous British dish. The public apparently consumes more than 400 million each Christmas.
So no wonder, then, that Aldi will this year open a restaurant dedicated to “bottomless” pork-in-pork, a PR stunt that presents the most eager in Britain the opportunity to eat a never-ending supply.
Riffing on the upmarket Soho joint Bob Bob Ricard, famed for its “press for Champagne” button, Aldi’s pigs-in-blankets restaurant will feature a “press for PIB” version. Not quite as luxurious, though presumably catnip for TikTok.
On the menu at the temporary restaurant in Camden Passage will be brie and cranberry “candy cane” pigs-in-blankets, others made with chipolatas and caramelised onions — a hit at the BBC Good Food Christmas taste test, apparently — and a “butcher’s select” variety, presumably made from happier hogs, or at least tastier ones.
Elsewhere, pigs-in-blankets flavoured crisps and a vegan alternative feature, as does prosecco.
Those finding all this a little tedious might recognise the fact that pigs-in-blankets have become so popular in Britain that 29 per cent now say they prefer the dish to roast potatoes, and 38 per cent now say they prefer them to roast turkey.
One in six, meanwhile, suggest they’ll be the first morsel to reach for at the dinner table and 19 per cent say they would choose them over anything else. One in ten British diners will have had their first by 10am.
Aldi’s managing director of buying Julie Ashfield said: “The pig-in-blanket has always been a popular Christmas trimming and our research really does show it to be a mighty festive staple for Brits across the nation.
“Launching a restaurant is a chance for Aldi fans to enjoy our biggest range yet.”
