Electric outdoor brand Current Backyard is releasing findings from its survey exploring cooking and eating preferences and habits among over 6,500 respondents in America’s 25 most populous metropolitan areas. Survey results suggest that Gen Z is the foodie generation – they eat out more often, cook and eat a wider variety of food and spend more on food than any other generation on cuisine, averaging $19,890 annually.

Gen Z loves to eat. They spend more on each meal, they cook adventurously, and they cook more for friends – at least three times more often than Gen X, and four times more often than Boomers. They cook spicier food, more seafood, more plant-based proteins and more meals outdoors than any other generation.

And they’d prefer to do even more cooking – 80% of those surveyed said they don’t cook as often as they’d like to, compared to 40% of respondents from other generations. Gen Z Americans were also more than twice as likely as older respondents to say cooking knowledge was the key factor holding them back.

In a separate Current Backyard survey of 1,000 Americans conducted on May 1, 2025, 83% of respondents said they think the cost of dining out and ordering food this summer will rise due to tariffs. Still, food will remain a clear priority for Gen Z – when asked how their summer budgets in various categories will be affected by economic conditions and the current cost of living, Gen Z respondents indicated they plan to reduce food budgets the least of any group. But they were also most likely to say they would be looking for coupons and discounts, learning to cook more this summer, doing more weekly meal prep on the weekends and bringing lunch to work more often.

“Great food is clearly important to Gen Z – they are diverse eaters with sophisticated palates. They want to cook at home more often and they want to get better at it,” said Anna Grant, general manager of Current Backyard. “That’s a key reason why we’ve designed our products with connected, smart apps and guided, precision cooking technology. Each successive generation has made cooking outdoors a bigger part of their lives, and we want to break down culinary barriers to help Gen Z become the best cooks yet.”

Current Backyard’s insights arise from Pollfish surveys conducted in February 2025 and May 2025, comprising responses from over 7,500 adults aged who regularly make decisions about cooking, dining out, and food takeout and delivery.

Source: Current Backyard