Overview
- Waitrose reported large month‑on‑month sales gains for winter dishes with cottage pie up 110 percent and chicken and ham gratin rising 68 percent, based on its last four weeks of data.
- The supermarket also recorded big jumps in online recipe searches for cold‑weather meals, including spaghetti bolognese (about 91 percent), toad in the hole (about 67 percent) and mac ’n’ cheese.
- Dozens of social posts on TikTok and Instagram showing people cooking and eating hot pies, lasagnes and casseroles have circulated since June and helped publicise the pattern.
- A nutritionist quoted in coverage explained that hot or spicy foods can increase sweating and cooling by evaporation and cited global food customs where hot dishes are eaten year‑round.
- Reporters and Waitrose caution the finding is a short‑term signal from one grocer’s four‑week snapshot rather than proof of a lasting shift, though sustained demand could affect supermarket merchandising and supply plans.