France, Ireland stay true to home-cooking

France, Ireland and Italy are the last bastions of home-cooking, according to a survey on Tuesday.

Diners in France and Ireland show the greatest loyalty to their local cuisine in Europe, with over 40 percent of online bookings in both countries opting for restaurants serving home-cooked food.

Loyalty towards local cuisine is absent in other parts of Europe, with less than a quarter of the online bookings made in the UK, Spain, Denmark and Germany being for restaurants specialising in the country's home-cooking.

Less than 20 percent of online bookings made in the United States are for restaurants serving American cuisine.

According to the survey, British cuisine has an average three-course menu price that is 10 percent higher than other European food choices.

The findings form part of a regular European restaurant index being launched by online reservation service Livebookings.com and endorsed by the British Hospitality Association.

The aim is to track restaurant and dining trends in Europe such as prices, diner preferences and the influence of discount deals.