Picking at your food like that is ruining dinner for everyone

It is the natural order of things that younger generations do exactly as we did – even the achingly cringeworthy stuff – and declare it a new trend on social media.

- CHARLOTTE LYTTON

And so to the “picky tea”, previously known as “bits and bobs” or, frankly, a picnic, which has become the official meal of the summer.

According to a new survey from cider brand Orchard Pig, nine out of 10 respondents are eating straight from the fridge three times a week, ditching actual meals for a hunk of sourdough, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and some chips ’n’ dips. (This figure is presumably 100 per cent among Gen Z.)

The options on the picky tea menu are seriously Seventies in taste, per the research, with 43 per cent of respondents saying that potato salad, coleslaw and pork pies feature (scotch eggs rank one percentage point lower); half of those quizzed opt for sausage rolls, while other questionable comestibles on the list include coronation chicken and quiche. Of their findings, Orchard Pig said: “It’s clear to see that ‘picky tea fever’ is sweeping the nation.”