Expensive Food and Drink

Canada and the World

Current Events with a Canadian Perspective

Last update

19 November 2010

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World’s Most

Expensive Food and Drink

Extravagance is not dead everywhere

as the mega-wealthy search out

new experiences only they can afford

The dinner at Bangkok’s Dome Restaurant in the Lebua Hotel has been billed as the most expensive in the world.

Held in February 2007, the meal carried a price tag of $30,000 per person, not including taxes and tip.

The 10-course feast assembled by six of the world’s most celebrated chefs attracted 15 high-flyers from the business worlds of Asia and the United States. Although ABC News reported that “Ten would-be Japanese diners cancelled after a New Year’s Eve bombing in Bangkok killed three people.”

The menu included: scallops, lobster, kobe beef, guinea fowl, lamb, and pigeon.

Good Meals Should Start with an Aperitif

Something to relax the temperament and prepare the palate comes in the form of a before-dinner drink.

Tokyo’s Ritz-Carlton has just the perfect cocktail for those with money to burn – the $18,000 martini. It’s a perfectly ordinary mix of gin and vermouth, but in addition to an olive or twist of lemon this drink comes with a one carat diamond. There’s also a personal rendition of the song “Diamonds are Forever,” to go along with the drink.

Some people don’t care for hard liquor so perhaps a little bubbly will stimulate the taste buds. As reported by winefeeds-wordpress.com a bottle of 1907 Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Champagne (right) is going to $250,000 a pop.

The wine was on its way to Czar Nicholas II of Russia when the ship carrying it was torpedoed by a German submarine in the Gulf of Finland. A couple of thousand bottles were salvaged in 1998 and are now on the market.

High-End Restaurants Doing Well

According to entertainmentjournal.com (June 2009), the well-heeled are tripping over themselves trying to get reservations at some of the world’s priciest eateries.

“The body language of people eagerly waiting to get inside these expensive restaurants says ‘money doesn’t matter tonight,’ even if they know they are going to be spending above $500 per head.”

For those with really, really deep pockets there’s the Ludovic XIII pizza at “Agropoli in the south of Italy.” This is not garden variety with double cheese and pepperoni. The Ludovic XIII is pretty special: “The crust,” writes Entertainment Journal, “is topped with lobster, tuna caviar, and a pouring of Louis XIII Martin cognac.”

And all this comes at the mouth-watering price of £6,700 (about $12,400 CAD). The article doesn’t mention size, but at that price it ought to be calibrated in football fields.

Forbes Lists Expensive Eateries

At Forbes Magazine they cater to the needs of CEOs with generous expense accounts. Writer Pascale Le Draoulec listed the places where such a person could get a decent meal:

New York: Masa’s in Manhattan – Minimum per person $500;
San Francisco: The French Laundry – The Chef’s Tasting for August 2010 comes with a Prix Fixe of $250 (thoughtfully serive is included;

Sydney: Wakuda Tetsuya’s Tetsuya – A 13-course minimum at $200;
Paris: L’Arpege – Compulsory nine-course tasting menu at $495;
Catalonia, Spain: El Bulli – The minimum cost per head is $300; and,
London: Restaurant Gordon – The seven-course tasting menu starts at $224.

Those, of course are minimum prices – there is no maximum. And, prices are subject to change.

And, for Dessert

Back at Entertainment Journal they say that “Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3 in New York, has set a world record for the most expensive dessert.”

The “Frrrozen Haute Chocolate” has won Bruce a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The dish “costs $25,000 and contains a blend of 28 different cocoas, including 14 of the most expensive and exotic from around the globe. This dessert also comes with 23-karat gold (five grams) and is served in an edible gold-lined goblet. The base of the goblet is circled with an 18-karat gold bracelet with one carat of white diamonds.”

This confection is topped with whipped cream, sprinkled with more gold, with a side of La Madeline au Truffle. The spoon provided is decorated with gold and diamonds and can be taken home.

Diners can stare lovingly at this memento as they wait for the credit card statement to come in.

Image credit

White House (Shelagh Craighead)

Sources

“World’s most Expensive Meals: Gourmet Gluttony.” Hasan, Directory Journal, May 24, 2009.

“Most Expensive Meal in the World.” Hunter Davis, The Most Expensive Journal, February 13, 2007.

“World’s Priciest Restaurants.” Pascale La Draoulec, Forbes, November 14, 2007.