START-UP businesses in the food sector are flourishing despite the recession, according to new research carried out by social enterprise Kitchenette.

The report into the eating-out sector, which contributes £25 billion to the UK economy annually, showed eating out was enjoying an unlikely boom against the decline of the British high street, with more than 25 per cent more restaurants opening in London in 2012 than in the previous year.

The report predicted that, given the right support from councils, food could create as many as 25,000 further new jobs a year and contribute £500 million extra to the economy.