Tom Kerridge has defended charging £35 for fish and chips in luxury department store Harrods, explaining the quality of the ingredients and labour that go into the dish.
The celebrity chef, 49, came under fire earlier this year for the costly dish at Kerridge’s Fish and Chips, which comprises of line-caught turbot and hand-cut potato chips.
Some angry customers called the portion of fish “scrawny”, while others criticised the “thimbles of sauce” that accompanied the dish.
But the Michelin-starred Kerridge – who has dealt with criticism of his prices in the past, including for an £87 sirloin steak in his Buckinghamshire pub – detailed the difference between his dish and a regular chippy’s fish and chips.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Kerridge said that the backlash no longer affects him and he’s “learnt to deal with it”.
“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 said.
“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 went on to explain the supply chain behind a portion of fish and chips, saying: “The fish in most chippies is frozen at sea, in a big block, a year ago, then cut up and portioned.
“The potatoes are maybe four weeks old, have gone through a chipper, been cleaned and put into cheap oil. They’re wrapped in paper, with malt vinegar and salt.”
Kerridge clarified that he does “love” regular fish and chips, but that the dish he serves in Harrods is different.
“At Harrods, it’s line-caught, day-boat turbot,” the Great British Menu judge said, referring to fish that is caught using traditional fishing methods by fishermen who go out to sea and return on the same day.
“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,” he added.
In 2021, Kerridge defended the prices at his pub, arguing that they “include everything, VAT and service”.
“No additional service charge at all. Also I pay staff properly and treat their job as a professional career. Perhaps the real cost of dining should be addressed,” he tweeted in response to a critic.
“Unpretentious does not mean cheap. Also, why is profit a bad word?”
Kerridge opened his first pub, The Hand and Flowers, alongside his wife Beth in 2005. Within a year, he had gained his first Michelin star.
Since then, the TV personality has been given three Michelin stars, including a second for The Hand and Flowers, and the third for The Coach. He has appeared on numerous TV programmes such as MasterChef and Saturday Kitchen, and currently presents Food and Drink for BBC Two.
