Takeaways and fast food restaurants are climbing up the gourmet food ladder and into the homes or even offices of time constrained and very wealthy businessmen and women. Just one quick glance at Just Eat’s familiar website will expose you to the true breadth of food on offer, going over and beyond 18-inch margarita pizzas, chicken tikka masala and vegetable spring rolls. But it doesn’t stop there, new websites and apps such as Supper and Deliveroo offer those who live within a certain radius of city centres the opportunity to consume Michelin-starred cuisine from the comfort of your own sofa and with the familiarity of your Ikea cutlery.

What surprises me here is that not only are these high-end restaurants happy to have their name alongside ‘Fu King Chinese’ and ‘Cheezy Chipz’, but apparently they do it well. The choice on offer is for the best part the same as you’d receive in the restaurant, the food almost identical once it has had twenty seconds or so in the microwave, and the way the food is delivered screams luxury with delivery drivers suited and booted. The premium you pay warrants the service you receive and so for those living the busy city lifestyle with a bit of extra cash in their pockets, and for whom the free poppadums just wont cut it, its no doubt this new spin on an existing industry is taking off here in the UK.

Years and years ago, the UK was previously dismissed as having a poor quality of food on offer in comparison to their European neighbours such as Italy and France. Ever since, the country has overcompensated by investing a fortune in setting up what is now considered one of the gastronomic centres of the world. The vast numbers of restaurants in London alone are enough to tickle the taste buds of anyone and everyone and so naturally the next stage would be to offer the same experiences in the homes of each and every one of us. Date nights are switching from fine dining and glad rags to X-Factor and paper bags and so it makes perfect sense for these restaurants to switch a table for two for Deliveroo in order to maximise their flow of income.

Takeaways are no longer takeaways as we know them and I believe they’re representative of the changes we have seen in consumer lifestyles over the past decade. Adults are living much busier lifestyles, with far less time on their hands and perhaps (more recently) a steadier income too. This, coupled with a far greater appreciation for good food, encourages us Brits to pay the price for having someone deliver decadence to our doorstep.

Personally, I think the idea is great and does make perfect sense in this day and age, but I don’t quite see how a Michelin-starred restaurant meal can logistically keep its Michelin star when you minus the restaurant, and I don’t think ill ever be able to get used to the idea of eating a luke-warm fillet steak from the squashed corner of a damp cardboard box. But perhaps that’s because I enjoy eating out too much or would much rather spend the time cooking that myself, or perhaps that’s just because when it comes to ordering a takeaway, Domino’s, you’ve got a pizza my heart.

Pictures are not my own.