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Turkey curry, blue leek and potato soup and lumpy marmalade pudding: Bridget Jones’ food offerings hardly make your mouth water.
Yet, fans of Helen Fielding’s franchise have seemingly been inspired to try out Bridget’s recipes ahead of the return of the singleton to screens in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy this month.
According to Waitrose, the forthcoming release of the series’ fourth film has caused a surge in sales for the old school ingredients and recipes.
The supermarket revealed that recipe searches for leek and potato soup are up 233 per cent compared with this time last year, per The Times. Meanwhile, searches for orange marmalade are up 553 per cent.
There has also been a 200 per cent rise in searches for turkey curry recipes. Turkey curry plays a key role in the franchise as Bridget’s mother introduces her to her love interest Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) over a plate of the dish.
Waitrose added that sales of the product themselves were also up. Duchy Organic Seville thick-cut marmalade has seen a 30 per cent increase. Meanwhile, pre-made leek and potato soup is up nine per cent.
Shoppers have seemingly also been influenced by Bridget’s love of chardonnay wine, with sales of Oxford Landing and Yellow Tail up 21 and 13 per cent respectively.
Mad About the Boy, which will be released in cinemas on Valentine’s Day, sees Bridget navigate “life as a widow and single mom with the help of her family, friends, and former lover Daniel.
Now in her fifties, the widowed mother is back to work and on the dating apps, following the death of her husband and father of her children, Mark Darcy.
Speaking to The Guardian, Zellweger – who has played the titular character since 2001 – admitted Darcy’s death had a huge emotional impact on her, too, leaving her feeling “rotten”.
“I was a crazy person mourning this fictional character,” she said. “I was weeping.
“It was also for that shared experience with Colin,” the Oscar-winning actor added. “Seeing him in his suit and beautiful coat, with his briefcase, looking dapper and very Mark Darcy.
“This is the end…we don’t get to do this anymore,” Zellweger said.
Following Darcy’s death, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays her son’s science teacher, and Leo Woodall are in the film as love interests for Bridget.
Speaking at the movie’s London premiere, Zellweger addressed the age gap between her 51-year-old Bridget and Woodall’s 29-year-old Roxster.
“I mean, I think it’s nothing new,” she told Variety. “But maybe the social taboos are melting away… it’s never a bad thing. There’s certain things that we probably don’t need to have opinions about, and where people find love… why would that ever be a problem?”
