Long Spanish lunch falls victim to tightening belts - most popular restaurant breakfast dishes survey

MADRID (Reuters)-
Soaring unemployment, rising taxes and belts
Tightening the family budget across Spain could eventually mean the end of a traditional Spanish lunch and nap. The two-to-three-
Take an hour off at noon and take a nap during the hottest days, which used to be a common way for Spanish workers to beat the afternoon heat.
But this has become a luxury for cash.
Nervous employees work longer hours and have to do less in the country's worst recession since the 1930 generation.
Many Spaniards are still working around 9. m.
After 8: 00, I won't get off work. m.
Part of the reason is to have a good lunch and the restaurant has prepared three meals for themcourse set-
Price menu for 2 pm. -5 p. m.
But as more and more employees choose restaurants that once frowned, restaurants are forced to reconsider their form and price --
Sandwiches on their screens, or lunch brought from home.
Margarta Pallas said: "You save a little money every month, which is very good for the family budget now in crisis in the country . " He works in a small shop in Calle Mallorca, Barcelona.
The "nap", which is used in the afternoon to cope with the hot noon nap, has actually disappeared, however, many office workers will still take the time to eat a big meal collectively and think that snacks at lunch time are not healthy, unhealthysocial. A typical 10-euro ($12. 24)
The package in the Spanish capital includes two delicious entrees, a beer or a glass of wine, dessert and a cup of coffee --
Compared to lunch in many other European capitals, the value here is high.
The package used to be the most popular form as lunch was traditionally the biggest meal of the day, complemented by an early light breakfast
Dim sum in the morning, afternoon tea and dinner in the afternoon.
However, the restaurant is selling their loyal package --
In a country where one person is out of work for every four workers, menu customers.
Those who are working are forced to tighten their belts to compensate family members for unemployment, tax increases and continued economic uncertainty.
"The crisis has hit citizens so hard that people have no choice but to overcome the embarrassment of bringing food to work, and once someone loses the shame factor, this makes it easy for others, "said Roger Leo Baraona, chef and owner of the restaurant Urkiola Mendi in Madrid.
Barahona said restaurants like him lost 50% of their sales during the crisis and many were forced to change homes
Buy cooking at the scene
Dine from the larger kitchen to save costs.
"I pay taxes, suppliers, rent, and in order to pay the wages of the employees, I didn't earn the salary last year," Barahona said . ".
Spain has been in recession for the past four years, and the country has now entered its second recession, making it cheaper for restaurants to offer dishes or cut vegetables --
To win customers, use the price menu for cheaper ingredients.
Emilia Cordero, owner of La Fuente del Collado in Bustarviejo, a picturesque mountain town outside Madrid, said she had never seen such a sudden change in eating habits since she opened the restaurant in the 1960 s.
Over the past few years, Cordero says, her restaurant has gradually developed new habits, including sharing children's menus, people asking for dog bags, a bottle of wine for seven people, and even fast food.
"I used to sell only four or five Western cold steaks a weekend, but now, forget it.
I would be lucky if I sold one a week and we even started offering hamburgers, "she said.
The advertising industry reflects the changing habits of the San Miguel alcohol TV ads --free beer.
In the advertisement, Spanish basketball star Gasol, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the United States, asked him to have the rest of the meal together until recently it was almost unheard of in Spain.
"The world is changing," said voiceover . "
Schools are also not immune to these changes.
Children in Spanish schools do not attend classes until they are 4 years old5 p. m.
Three a day-
Package during the two of them
Lunch break. State-
For a hearty meal, the school charges up to 150 euros a month, leading some struggling parents to send their children to class with packed lunches, a move that has been resisted by staff.
Part of the problem is logistics, and the soaring summer temperatures have forced some schools to buy fridges to store food brought from home, although it has really fueled a boycott of "Tupperware children --
Named after the plastic food container
There are concerns that in a country where children's obesity rates are rising, they may be at risk of eating imbalance.
"It is possible for the children to start changing their eating habits because in Spain we had a good dinner at noon and a lighter dinner.
Mother said: "Tupperware lunch is changing the meal time, which is an important change for our food culture . "of-
Two iloisa houtado, working closely with the school council.
Some schools even ban packing lunches, which means schools with tight budgets are forced to take their children home during lunch breaks.
Hurtado admits that this is not a solution as the budget gets tighter.
"Not all families have people picking up their children at noon," Hurtado said . ".
"What would these families do if we banned packing lunch? ”($1 = 0. 8170 euros)