A British celebrity chef has defended his “pretentious” $65 fish and chips saying people simply “don’t understand” how it’s priced.
Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, 49, has been slammed online for his take on the iconic dish at his restaurant Kerridge’s Fish and Chips, which opened in 2021 in the famed Harrods dining hall in London.
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The restaurant’s cheapest fish option, its market day fish, is £35 ($A65).
The price jumps to £40 ($A76) if you’d prefer a Cornish plaice and £49 ($A93) for monkfish scampi.
The fish, fried in gluten-free batter, is served with “chips, Matson curry sauce, tartare sauce and peas pudding”, the menu says.
Many social media users have called the chef “out of touch” over the pricing of the meal — with England’s unofficial national dish traditionally considered a cheap takeaway option wrapped in newspaper.
“Where’s the rest of it? (I) like Tom Kerridge a lot but come on — UK food crisis prices!!” one person commented underneath a photo of the fish and chips.
“Eight chips and a tiny thin bit of fish? This is pretentious bollocks,” another said.
A third person commented: “Just waiting for the remortgage application to come through and I’ll be there.”
Kerridge said he’s “learnt to deal with” such backlash.
“I’m seen as a man of the people, so when I put fish and chips on for £35 they shout at me for it being expensive,” he told Radio Times.
“But the people criticising me don’t understand how it’s priced. Fish and chips was always seen as cheap, fast food, and I get that because of where I grew up.”
Kerridge said critics should not compare the quality of the food he was serving at luxury department store Harrods with a regular high street fish and chip shop.
“The fish in most chippies is frozen at sea, in a big block, a year ago, then cut up and portioned,” he said.
“The potatoes are maybe four weeks old, have gone through a chipper, been cleaned and put into cheap oil.
“At Harrods, it’s line-caught, day-boat turbot. The potatoes are specifically sourced for their sugar and starch content, then individually cut up by a person.
“It’s bespoke dining in the most exclusive and beautiful shop in the world. Of course it’s expensive.”
Many other social media users agreed, saying people who shop at Harrods “can afford it”.
“It is expensive, like really expensive for Joe Public, but it’s in Harrods so it’s going to be expensive!! People who shop in Harrods can afford it,” one person said.
“I don’t think £35 is that much over the top when … it’s in Harrods,” another agreed.
Kerridge owns several pubs and restaurants with his first venture, The Hand and Flowers, becoming the first pub to receive two Michelin stars in 2012.
He has also appeared on British cooking shows such as Bake Off, The Great British Menu and Saturday Kitchen.
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