Tom Kerridge says hospitality is ‘up against it’
Tom Kerridge’s most famous venue for anyone looking for a bite to eat is perhaps his two Michelin-starred pub in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, called The Hand and Flowers – but prices don’t come cheap.
However, the TV chef has now dropped the bombshell that he makes an average of just £17 profit from each meal he sells.
The price of a Sunday lunch in The Hand And Flowers was raised at the start of the month, from £155 to £175, but according to Tom, the steep hike is necessary.
“Go on then, ask me how a lunch can cost £175 or the price of my fish and chips in Harrods. That’s all anyone ever b****y well wants to know!” he exclaimed in a new interview with The Times.
“I get a fair amount of c**p for it,” he mused.
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However, he defended his price structure, grimacing: “We have a staff of 80 for a pub with 40 covers and the annual payroll is about £2.5 million. It’s a beast.
“That and bills mean we make about £17 on each meal, so we have to feed 10 people to make £170. Believe me, if there was a lot of money in hospitality you wouldn’t have 8,000 closures this year.”
Tom also pointed out that he serves only the highest quality meats to guarantee the customer a luxury experience, while his fish is usually a tempting catch of the day from the very best on the Cornish sea.
Service is included as part of the price, as are sourdough bread and butter, coffee and petit fours.
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There are certainly some foodies who are tempted in spite of the soaring prices, as the Hand And Flowers was fully booked on the day of the interview and usually reaches at least 80 percent capacity.
Meanwhile, Tom owns another pub half a mile further down the road, The Butcher’s Tap and Grill, where under-16s are offered free meals, Monday to Thursday from 3pm to 5pm, if accompanied by an adult.
“It’s heartbreaking — the same people come in time and again and sometimes the parents sit there with a glass of water and watch their children eat,” he exclaimed.
Food poverty is a topic Tom is passionate about, as the son of a single mum who grew up on a cash-strapped council estate in Gloucester.
Nowadays, Tom is a household name for his Marlow eateries, as well as the likes of Kerridge’s Bar & Grill at London’s five-star Corinthia Hotel.
He’s also due to open another Butcher’s Tap and Grill, but this time in West London’s Chelsea, where he promises the prospect of a meaty, “Britishcentric” menu with fresh produce from English farms.
Meanwhile, his controversial £40 fish and chips menu can be found at the Kerridge’s Fish and Chips restaurant in the Harrods dining hall on London’s Brompton Road (currently closed until October 7).
However, he’s never forgotten his early roots, and he’s even worked with young footballer Marcus Rashford in a bid to alleviate children’s hunger, as well as dishing out 100,000 free meals to the local community during Covid.
The latest episode of The Hidden World of Hospitality with Tom Kerridge airs tonight from 8pm on BBC Two.
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