Rick Stein has defended his decision to charge £2 for condiments at his fish restaurant in Cornwall after criticism from some customers.
The television chef and food writer’s restaurant group charges customers for condiments and dips in Stein’s Fish & Chips in Padstow to sit in, including gravy, curry sauce and aioli.
Some customers said they were “very disappointed” by the charges on the TripAdvisor website.
A spokesperson for Stein, who runs 10 restaurants in the UK, blamed “skyrocketing costs” including food, energy and wage bills for the higher prices seen by diners.
She told the BBC: “Our homemade condiments using Rick Stein’s special recipes are prepared in Padstow by our team of chefs.
“Food inflation, energy costs, along with rising wages, have driven up the cost of production significantly. We have reluctantly, along with many others, had to pass on some of the costs to our customers.”
Haddock or cod and chips cost £16.95 in the restaurant, which overlooks the Camel Estuary. Interspersed with a number of good reviews on the TripAdvisor website was criticism about the prices at Stein’s Fish & Chips.
One wrote: “So disappointed with the meal. The haddock was amazing … let down by serving frozen chips and having to pay £2 for the tiniest pot of mushy peas believable.”
Another customer said in April that their meal was “very disappointing. When we paid the bill we discovered that the tiny pot of mushy peas was £2 extra, as was the tartar sauce as was the curry sauce. Unfortunately I don’t think we will be returning!”
The rate at which food prices are rising is slowing but stubbornly high grocery prices mean the cost of the weekly shop is now as big a concern as energy bills, research in August showed.
Food inflation fell from 13.4% in the year to July to 11.5% in August, according to data published by the British Retail Consortium.
Household budgets in the UK and around the world have been squeezed by rapid increases in prices for food and other goods, with much of the global economy being roiled by a wave of high inflation.
Prices soared as supply chains struggled to respond to demand after the end of Covid lockdowns.
