TV chef defended his pricy portion of fish and chips after critics claimed he was charging too much for the British staple – and exposed the gruesome reality of the dish’s origins.
The 49-year-old restauranteur came under fire after he revealed he was asking punters to pay £35 for a plate of battered cod and chips in Harrod’s food hall.
Kerridge’s Fish and Chips portions were being sold at the luxury outlet and had fans of the cooking star flabbergasted at the price tag.
Despite the criticism, Tom backed up his asking cost and explained why he felt the humble fish and chips were worth more than its usual cheap and cheerful bracket.
He admitted the backlash no longer bothered him and shared: ‘I’ve 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,’ Tom told Radio Times.
The star continued telling the publication: ‘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.
‘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.
‘I love it, but 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.’
Fans were outraged after clocking the price of the traditional dish – that contained one piece of fish and eight chips – amid ‘the cost of living crisis’.
Underneath Tom’s social media post announcing his new menu item, one user penned: ‘The whole of the UK is in a shambles financially. But £35 for a scrawny bit of fish and seven or eight chips is fine. Oh and the thimbles of sauce.’
Another said: ‘Eight chips and a tiny thin bit of fish? This is pretentious b**ocks’.
Making appearances on shows such as Great British Menu, MasterChef and Saturday Kitchen, the TV cooking professional started out as a child actor before attending culinary school, aged 18.
He earned himself a Michelin star after opening his first pub the Hand & Flowers with his wife Beth Cullen-Kerridge in 2005.
The chef went on to win a second star for his efforts at the pub in 2012 after he was listed once again.
Picking back up his early passion for TV, the star co-hosted the BBC show Food and Drink in 2015 after initially appearing as a guest two years prior in 2013.
Read the full interview in .
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