Somerfield supermarket conducted a survey of 1,500 adults. The results revealed that 79% of the adults could not boil an egg, 83% did not know how long it took to roast a chicken and 9% thought it took less than 30 minutes to roast potatoes.

Additionally, despite the clue in its name, 37% of those surveyed thought shepherd's pie is made with beef mince rather than lamb mince.

Some have blamed this lack of knowledge in terms of basic cooking skills on the fact that there is such a growing trend toward ready-made meals. Others have stated that this is a result of a lack of cookery lessons at school, even though parents are teaching their children to cook now than 50 years ago.

Somerfield’s Pete Williams: “A lot of us are still baffled Brits when it comes the most simple of dishes… Long may parents pass on their culinary skills," he said, adding that it would be criminal to rob future generations of such dishes.