Mar 24 2006
Gareth Morgan, Western Mail
Dusting down the best silver and following an 87-step recipe for coq au vin may be giving way to a more informal type of dinner party.
Instead of slaving over a hot stove and relying on small talk, young professionals are checking the TV guide before planning their next dinner party.
The massive popularity of reality TV shows such as Big Brother and Pop Idol has helped create a major new eating trend worth millions to the UK food industry.
The trend is being driven by singles who host impromptu and informal dinner parties for their friends in order to watch the latest must-see reality TV shows at the same time.
Known in the food industry as
'carpet grazing', the phenomenon is responsible for a 55% rise in sales of party foods at Tesco in the past year.
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