HelloFresh has partnered with Married at First Sight’s Paul C. Brunson for a new campaign highlighting the “hidden stresses” around cooking and meal times.

Titled ‘The Dinner Decree‘, the campaign asks households across the UK to confront the “tensions” around ‘what’s for dinner?’ and to mark its launch HelloFresh has unveiled a new competition asking users to commit to taking the ‘what’s for dinner?’ question off the table for good.

To enter consumers need to share an Instagram Story stating they are signing up and what they will be changing and then tagging #HelloFreshUK and #TheDinnerDecree. Ten winners will then have the chance to win a selection of prizes. The promotion runs until 23:59 on 31 October.

Paul C. Brunson, matchmaker and relationship expert, said: “Whether you’re cooking for a partner, family or friends, making dinner may seem like a fairly standard task in day-to-day life, but in my work I’ve seen how it can become one of the daily frictions that quietly wears relationships down.

“Cooking together, with a plan and without the stress, is one of the simplest things a household can do for itself. Acknowledging when that load falls unfairly on one person, and agreeing to share the dinnertime responsibility, brings connection through shared, meaningful moments, transforming the kitchen from a source of tension to a shared, enjoyable space.”

Research from the service shows that 40 per cent of UK adults find that preparing dinner makes mealtimes stressful rather than enjoyable and this number rises to 52 per cent for parents.

It highlights that the mental burden for preparing dinner usually falls to women, with 70 per cent of women reporting they are mainly responsible for planning meals, compared with 44 per cent of men who reported the same thing.

45 per cent of UK adults say they are often faced with the phrase “I don’t mind, you decide” when deciding what to eat. And, 19 per cent reported that their decision on what to eat often wasn’t accepted, this number increases to 27 per cent for parents.

The research also highlights that washing up and the cost of food are the top sources of tension, followed by the responsibility of choosing what to eat. For parents the top stressor is catering to their child’s preferences.

Mimi Morley, senior recipe development manager at HelloFresh UK & Ireland, added: “Our research shows just how much unseen work goes into answering the question of ‘what’s for dinner’ every day. With couples, families and housemates each facing their own unique stresses, ‘The Dinner Decree’ spotlights the often unspoken mental labour that comes around with dinner every single evening.

“HelloFresh offers a simple solution to that problem, helping households step away from the dinnertime tensions by sending fresh, pre-portioned recipes straight to the door, bringing together households to connect and rediscover joy around cooking and mealtimes.”

Brunson also shared five tips aimed at helping households resolve tensions around mealtimes. These tips include naming invisible work, making plans to tackle mealtime tasks together, rotating the decision making, cooking together at least once a week and choosing a plan that works for you.

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