More Brits dream of opening a pub than becoming an astronaut, according to a survey by Caterer.com.
Of the 2,860 respondents, more than 90% said that the catering industry has become more appealing due to a couple of Hairy Bikers, a foul mouthed chef and a school dinner"s campaign.
1 in 4 Brits said they dreamt of opening their own pub or restaurant whereas only 19% of us dream of becoming a Fire Fighter, 11% admit to dreaming of becoming a Doctor and 8% dream of becoming an Astronaut.
When the 24% of respondents were asked why they dream of opening their own pub, 92% said the hospitality industry had become increasingly appealing and celebrity chef personalities, such as Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver injected fun into the industry.
68% of all respondents said their opinion of the hospitality and catering industry had changed over recent years. 61% of respondents admitted to taking an interest in at least one catering television programme and 21% of these respondents claim to have had no previous interest in cooking.
Ian Burke from Caterer.com comments;
"We have certainly noticed an increase in the amount of people looking for careers within hospitality and firmly believe that strong television personalities, such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey have made the sector appealing to a whole new variety of people."
Michael Coaker, Lecturer in Culinary Arts at Thames Valley University comments;
"It doesn"t surprise me at all that the catering industry has become increasingly popular within the UK. This year has been one of our most successful years in recruiting students for our full time Chef Restaurant diploma course and a new kitchen has just been fitted to cater with the high demand of students."
