Rick Stein defends £2 chip shop condiments charge

A celebrity chef's restaurant in Padstow has come under fire after hiking the cost of its condiments.

Some customers ordering mayonnaise, tartar sauce or mushy peas were "disappointed" by having to pay £2 at Stein's Fish & Chips in Cornwall.

A spokeswoman for Stein's blamed "skyrocketing costs" including food, energy and wage bills for the higher prices seen by diners.

Rick Stein's restaurant group, which owns a number of businesses in Cornwall and across the UK, charges £2 for condiments and dips in its Padstow chip shop to sit in.

Haddock and chips or cod and chips cost £16.95 in the restaurant.

Condiments also include gravy, curry sauce and aioli.

The restaurant group said it had held prices steady since 2020, but had put them up recently due to soaring prices.

A spokeswoman said: "Our homemade condiments using Rick Stein's special recipes are prepared in Padstow by our team of chefs.

"Food inflation, energy costs, along with rising wages, have driven up the cost of production significantly.

"We have reluctantly, along with many others, had to pass on some of the costs to our customers," she added.

However, mixed in with a number of good reviews, some customers said they were "very disappointed" by the charges on the TripAdvisor website.

"So disappointed with the meal," one wrote. "The haddock was amazing... let down by serving frozen chips and having to pay £2 for the tiniest pot of mushy peas believable."

Another customer said in April that their meal was "very disappointing".

"When we paid the bill we discovered that the tiny pot of mushy peas was £2 extra, as was the tartar sauce as was the curry sauce. Unfortunately I don't think we will be returning!"

One user wrote in in April: "On top of the £16 for cod and chips, you were expected to pay an additional £2 for condiments such as tartar sauce or mayo... We are regular visitors to Padstow and will not be eating here again."

Food prices have been higher in recent months while production costs have been on the up, with higher energy bills and restricted supply of grain from Ukraine after Russia's invasion.

Crop failures and reduced harvests linked to climate change also mean some supplies may be restricted, pushing some prices up.

Nearly half of adults reported buying less food in the last two weeks due to higher prices, the ONS said on 8 September.

And one in 20 people said that in the two weeks prior to 1 May they had run out of food and had been unable to afford more.

In July, inflation for sauces and condiments stood at 28.4% according to official figures, down from 34% in June and 35.1% in May.