BIG LUNCH THE RECIPE FOR GOOD NEIGHBOURHOODS

Northern Ireland’s Paula McIntyre teams up with Ainsley and Prue to launch nationwide Big Lunch recipe search

The Big Lunch annual celebration of neighbours and communities has launched a nationwide search to unearth hidden culinary gems and the stories behind them with the help of celebrity chefs including Ainsley Harriott, Dame Prue Leith and Northern Ireland’s own Paula McIntyre.

The Recipe Search is an idea from the people behind The Big Lunch which takes place on 7 and 8 June. It’s been launched in response to new research revealing that the nation loves to cook but are in need of some inspiration.  

Ulster chef and writer Paula McIntyre encouraged everyone to get involved and submit their favourite recipe.

She said: “The Big Lunch Recipe Search is on, and we want to ensure Northern Ireland’s favourites are represented in the final UK-wide round up. That’s what The Big Lunch is all about after all, sharing good local food, making friends with the people who live nearby. It’s a chance to bring people together and food is a fabulous convener. So, look out your favourite recipe, maybe it’s one passed down from your granny or one you came up with on your own - let’s get sharing.”

Grainne McCloskey, Eden Project Northern Ireland manager, said: “The Big Lunch has always been about sharing food and making new connections - and with this new evidence confirming that people agree food tastes better when we share it together, we have the perfect excuse to get in the kitchen and make a dish to share. This recipe search is about finding new and inspiring dishes to try together, so add your dish to a growing recipe bank of shareable favourites and come together to feed community spirit with The Big Lunch on 7-8 June.”

The new data reports that almost one in seven of us (14%) NEVER cook a new recipe, with a quarter of people (24%) admitting that a lack of ideas stops them cooking from scratch.

The national survey conducted by YouGov and revealed today, dives deeper into the nation’s kitchen habits, finding that while four in ten UK adults (40%) report they’re more likely to cook meals from scratch compared to five years ago, many of us hold back from trying new dishes due to a lack of ideas and inspiration.  

With the latest research revealing that over a third (37%) of UK adults agree that eating food with others enhances how it tastes, The Big Lunch Recipe Search is on – aiming to find the nation’s favourite dishes to inspire people to try something new in the kitchen and share their creations at The Big Lunch events this June.

Entrants are encouraged to enter their go-to dishes, quirky childhood favourites and top crowd pleasers along with the stories behind them at TheBigLunch.com.

Big Lunch Ambassador, Dame Prue Leith said: “The Big Lunch Recipe Search is more than just a way of finding and rewarding the people behind the UK’s best home recipes. It is an invitation to people everywhere to join in with The Big Lunch and share food and friendship together. It is a chance to celebrate the recipes that we love sharing with others and the special role that food plays in strengthening relationships, celebrating who we are, our passions, culture and traditions and that sense of belonging where we live.”

Long-time Big Lunch supporter, Ainsley Harriott MBE, is also looking forward to seeing what people come up with in their kitchens for the Big Lunch Recipe Search. He said: “It’s all about hunting down hidden culinary gems. Recipes that hold a special place in people's hearts... and stomachs. We want to hear about food that brings people together and is great for sharing. Throughout my life I've been so influenced by my mother’s cooking and I still make some of her recipes today, things like her wonderful red bean stew and fabulous BBQ chicken. I can’t wait to hear what’s cooking in the nation’s kitchens to tickle our taste buds and bring the whole country together over the Big Lunch weekend.”

Home cooks who submit the recipes that they feel bring people together are in with a chance to have their recipe featured in a Big Lunch online cookbook and shared at thousands of Big Lunch events up and down the UK this June. Submissions will be reviewed by the team behind The Big Lunch alongside chefs and supporters, and five finalists will be able to join a special invite-only Big Lunch event in May, with one home cook in with the chance to take home a bumper hamper of goodies to help with their own Big Lunch event.

The Big Lunch is an idea from the Eden Project made possible with support from the Pears Foundation and partners Co-op and Greene King. It’s the UK’s annual celebration for neighbours and the biggest community-led fundraiser, bringing millions of people together in a nationwide act of friendship in June every year since 2009. Her Majesty The Queen has been patron since 2013.  

To find out more and share your favourite recipes go to www.thebiglunch.com

ENDS

About the research

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2081 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th - 12th March 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

About The Big Lunch  

The Big Lunch is an idea from the Eden Project made possible by the support of Pears Foundation and corporate partners Co-op and Greene King. It’s the UK’s annual celebration for neighbours and communities bringing millions of people together in a nationwide act of friendship on the first weekend in June every year since 2009. Her Majesty The Queen has been Patron of The Big Lunch since 2013.  

For The Big Lunch follow us at @edencommunities: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and for Eden Project news follow @edenprojectcornwall on Instagram, TikTok / @edenproject on X and LinkedIn.

To find out more about The Big Lunch go to www.TheBigLunch.com and for the Eden Project go to www.EdenProject.com.  

About Pears Foundation

Pears Foundation is an independent, British family foundation driven by a desire to demonstrate the good that philanthropy can achieve in the world. It is the philanthropic foundation of the Pears family, who have given more than £450million to charity since the Foundation was established. The foundation is focused on building long-term relationships with partners, providing core funding and offering more than money through organisational and leadership development programmes, with the aim of demonstrating the foundation’s vision of good philanthropy and the value of leading by example. To find out more, visit pearsfoundation.org.uk

About Co-op

Co-op Group is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives, with interests across food retail, funerals, insurance, and legal services. Co-op is owned by and run for its 6.2 million members. With over 2,300 food stores and more than 800 funeral homes, Co-op also supplies products to 6,000 other outlets, including those run by independent co-operatives, through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.

Employing 55,000 people, Co-op has an annual turnover of over £11 billion and is a recognised leader in social goals and community-led programmes. Co-op exists to meet members’ needs and champion the causes they believe in.

About Greene King

Greene King is the country’s leading pub company and brewer with c.2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland. It’s passionate about delivering its purpose to ‘pour happiness into lives’ - for customers, team members, pub partners, suppliers and the communities in which Greene King live, operate and serve. Founded in 1799 with offices in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and Burton on Trent in Staffordshire they employ around 39,000 people across the group with three divisions: Greene King pubs & Pub Partners, Destination Brands & Ventures, and Brewing & Brands.    

4 / 4