We know that restaurants are language moments  – opportunities to try out new words for dishes we’ve never seen before. But with this comes fear of getting it wrong, with searches for “menu anxiety” spiking. Yet, these also offer a perfect language moment and chance to try out getting it wrong, as a linguistics expert told Preply.

To find out more, we uncovered the top foods that Brits struggle to pronounce, uncovering that Italian dishes make up the highest percentage of queries. What’s more, we analysed UK restaurants to find the most popular (following English) – and interesting, Italians also came out on top.

So, it only made sense to encourage Brits to tackle their menu anxiety, with a reward for trying out new vocab.

How? Partnering Preply with Italian brand Carluccio’s, offering diners 25% off their bill when they ask for it in Italian. 

Our aim was to secure coverage and also get people speaking the language: we achieved both with 10 pieces of coverage (including the Express!) and hundreds using the deal.