A top chef has disproved a Tory MP's claims that it's possible to "cook meals from scratch" every day for as little as 30p.
Across the country, many people are all too familiar with the negative impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis, as bills soar while the cost of household essentials and food incurs spikes in cost, too. Conservative MP Lee Anderson sparked outrage last week after claiming Brits living in poverty and forced to rely on food banks "cannot budget" and "cannot cook properly".
The MP went on to state it's possible to "cook meals from scratch" for as little as "30p a day". Now, a top chef has decided to put the MP's claims to the test - and has found them to be "rubbish".
Read more: The reason food prices have soared in the UK and why it's set to continue
Chef Gareth Mason, 34, dubbed the MP's comments "tone deaf" and embarked on challenge to cook seven basic meals under the confines of the 30p budget in a bid to prove Mr Anderson wrong, Hull Live reports. The professional found he was able to whip up a meal under the restrictions but discovered the portion size and value would see adults struggle to meet the recommended allowance of 2,000 calories a day.
Gareth cooked meagre portions of crab stick salad, burgers, spaghetti napoli, beans on toast, a jacket potato with beans and a 'spam fritter' made from cheap luncheon meat. Reflecting on the challenge, the chef said: "I've come to the conclusion it's a load of rubbish. These meals I've done, as soon as you put any protein or dairy into them, it's not feasible to do it for 30p.
"If you eat beans on toast for every meal, it might work, but even if you did cheese on toast, the cost of cheese would be more than 30p on its own. And you have the cooking coast on top of the cost of the food. Even if this MP is talking about batch cooking army food, even the smallest amount of spaghetti Bolognese is going to go above 30p."
Gareth, who has 19 years' experience, said none of the meals were balanced and he had to exclude things such as increasingly expensive butter. He said an adult would struggle to get the recommended daily allowance of 2,000 calories per day and most ingredients were high in salt, fat or sugar.
Mr Anderson, who earns £84,144 a year as an MP, was accused of being "out of touch" when he made his comments in the Commons last week. He urged Labour MPs to "come to Ashfield and work with me for a day in my food bank and see the brilliant scheme we have got".
He told Parliament: "What we do in the food bank, we show them how to cook cheap and nutritious meals on a budget." He added: "We can make a meal for about 30 pence a day. And this is cooking from scratch."
His comments sparked uproar but he defended himself by saying he was trying to "educate people" to make their lives "a little easier". And he pointed to a cooking challenge at his local food bank in conjunction with the college and a local chef to feed a family of five for £50 a week.
However Gareth, head chef at Absolute Bistros in Westhoughton, Lancashire, questioned where the average person was supposed to find the kitchen or storage space. He added: “Has this guy ever eaten a 30p meal in his life? I doubt it.
"He's contradicted himself by having chefs cook the food in a big kitchen with an industrial oven. Where does he expect the average person to cook all this food and then freeze it all? It takes a trained and experienced chef to work out the precise cost of a meal to the penny like that, how is the average person supposed to do that?"
Gareth previously created 15 days worth of lunches for a child for just £20 with every meal under a pound to put the paltry hampers given to kids during lockdown to shame. But he believes 30p is far too low a budget for a healthy, nutritious meal that the average adult would need in order to function throughout the day.
Gareth added: "You could just about feed yourself, but it's not going to be healthy or nutritious or get anywhere near the amount of calories an average adult needs to function each day. He's treating people like peasants. Energy prices are going up, people are struggling, the cost of living is on the rise and what's their solution? Eat for 30p?
"The cheaper you go, how much rubbish is in the food? It will be full of additives and preservatives and all sorts of junk. It's not fresh, nutritious food that people need to have a healthy diet."
Read next:
