Tom Kerridge reveals why Marlow pub food is so expensive

Tom Kerridge, the owner of three pubs in Marlow, including the only twice-Michelin-starred boozer in the UK, The Hand and Flowers, has revealed that the money he takes home for each pricey meal bought is only a fraction of the charge put to the customer.

In an interview with The Times, Kerridge addressed the increase in the price of his three-course Sunday lunch at The Hand and Flowers, which rose from £155 to £175 a head on September 1.

The meal, which includes bread and butter, coffee and petits fours, only equals out to a take-home sum of around £17 after staff wages and bills have been considered.

“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.

“Believe me, if there was a lot of money in hospitality, you wouldn’t have 800 closures this year.”

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A spokesperson for The Hand and Flowers previously told the Free Press that the decision to raise menu costs had “not been taken lightly”.

They added: “The cost-of-living crisis has hit hospitality hard, and we have seen huge rises in the cost of food and ingredients which we are not prepared to compromise on, as well as energy, wage and rent increases.”

The challenges facing the industry are the focus of Kerridge’s BBC 2 series ‘The Hidden World of Hospitality with Tom Kerridge’, which began airing at the start of July.

Speaking to PA, the chef said the financial stability of hospitality staff had to be a consideration in deciding whether to increase food prices.

“What value do we put on people? People who are serving, people who are clearing plates, people who are cooking, people who are washing up, people who are answering the telephone – all of those things.

“All of those people – and the only way you make money is by selling a piece of sea bass or some chips, you know? That’s how it gets paid for.”