‘Never punish people making good money – you don’t feed children by making successful people ashamed’: Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge defends his pricey menus and £87 steak dinners amid cost of living crisis
- Tom Kerridge, 49, has once again defended selling £87 steak dinners at his pubs
- The Hand and Flowers, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, is a two Michelin star pub
- The chef said axing pricey menus will not help end child food poverty in the UK
- Kerridge set up a food poverty campaign with Marcus Rashford in April 2021
Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge has defended his costly restaurant menus claiming ‘successful people’ should not feel guilty for ‘making good money’ as it will not end child food poverty.
The Michelin-star chef, 49, who runs six restaurants in London, Manchester and Buckinghamshire, said it is possible to both help people in poverty and serve expensive meals to those who can afford it.
The MasterChef star previously came under fire for charging £87 for a sirloin steak and chips at his two Michelin starred pub, The Hand and Flowers, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
Kerridge has continued to defend the decision to sell expensive meals at a time when millions of people across the country are being plunged further into a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
He told The Times people should not be ‘punished’ for ‘making good money’ adding that ‘you don’t help to feed children by making successful people ashamed because I am one of those people’.
Tom Kerridge has defended his costly restaurant menus claiming that child food poverty will not end by making ‘successful people’ feel guilty for ‘making good money’. The celebrity chef previously came under fire for selling £87 steak dinners at one of his six restaurants.
These are some of the dishes that the star chef is serving at his six restaurants across London, Manchester and Buckinghamshire.
It comes as shopping bills have surged at the fastest rate since 2008, with the average house’s grocery bill jumping by £533.
The restaurant, which was previously marketed as a ‘casual’ and ‘accessible’ dining experience, serves items such as a £69 pork loin and a £68 chicken pie.
During the pandemic he faced a fierce backlash after selling takeaway Christmas dinners for £95-a-head that customer had to cook themselves at home.
Then two months later he was also blasted for doing similar ones for Valentine’s Day costing £185.
The Hand and Flowers, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire was the first pub in the UK to get a two Michelin star award. Critics hit out at Kerridge over the pandemic for selling £95-per-head Christmas dinners that had to be cooked at home.
He has continuously defended the price tag explaining that high-end food products and high staff wages are the main factors for the price of the menu.
But despite catering for those with expensive taste, the chef also spends a lot of time working as a food activists.
Last year the television chef teamed up with Manchester United footballer and food-poverty hero Marcus Rashford during the pandemic to help families provide healthy, cheap and filling meals.
The Full Time Meals campaign, launched in April 2021, aims to end child food poverty by sharing recipes that are accessible and easy to cook.
He said: ‘It makes me angry that there are more food banks than branches of McDonald’s in this country.’
Explaining his decision to serve high-end products while helping those in need, he said ‘it’s better for me and Marcus to put 52 budget-friendly recipes on social media, which will help feed a lot of hungry kids, rather than, say, just giving away £50,000.’
Kerridge teamed up with Marcus Rashford during the pandemic to set up the Full Time Meal campaign. The pair have provided 52 budget-friendly, healthy recipes for families.
He added: ‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you want to ride in a Bentley, it costs money.
‘If you’re on a budget there’s an intensely farmed Ford Focus available round the corner and that’s fine by me.’
Kerridge grew up on a Gloucester council estate where he began cooking for his younger brother while his mother, a single parent, worked two jobs.
He then went on to train a chef later making the Hand & Flowers the first British pub to win two Michelin stars.
The award-winning pub, however, has not managed to escape rising inflation costs which are continuing to bite across the country.
He explained how the price of butter has jumped from £23 for a box to £70 and vegetable oil has risen by almost 200 per cent.
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