The Deconstructed £8 Fish & Chips
Here’s a story guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of any hard-pressed restaurateur. Debbie ate at the Oxton Bar & Kitchen on the Wirral and wrote a review on their Facebook page:
“Lovely food and staff are amazing but I cannot see how you justify your prices, small fish and chips £8 plus and it was small?”
Here’s the response she got:
“OK Debbie. Where do I begin? Out of that £8, our nasty government is charging you 20% VAT which we collect by law on their behalf, so we’re left with £6.66. Out of this, we need to buy the fresh ingredients; 1 haddock fillet, get a chef to make everything from scratch; a delicious beer batter, homemade tartare sauce, mushy peas and chunky chips (the whole cost of ingredients for this plate comes to roughly £2.70). This leaves us with £3.94 for which alas our pesky chef expects remuneration!! Then we realised the ‘lovely’ food doesn’t float to you, so we have to pay ‘amazing’ staff to serve you and clear up after you?! Pay utility bills (we need gas to cook, you need lights to see the food) and don’t get me started on business rates. So if £3.94 is not justifiable for creating and affording this whole experience with us, you’re welcome to recreate it in the comfort of your own home. I doubt it’ll be long before the government find a tax for that too.”
Debbie, you did ask!