FOOL'S EYE VIEW
Value For Money?

By Jane Mack (TMFJane)
December 21, 2001

I've got a bit of a dilemma. The other day I rather rashly promised my husband that, as part of his Christmas present, I would take him to Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant at Claridge's. As we all know, Ramsay is apparently quite a good cook and from what my husband and I have seen on the telly, we rather like him because he's so funny when he loses his temper. If you saw Elton John in the 'Tantrums and Tiaras' documentary a few years ago, you'll get the gist of what I mean!

The trouble is, my husband and I don't eat out in restaurants that often and when we do, we usually favour our local Pizza Express so we're not very used to posh nosh. Don't get me wrong – we know how to use a knife and fork properly, not to mention the difference between a napkin and a serviette. And we even know that you're supposed to work from the outside in when faced with umpteen bits of cutlery. Let's just say we're more used to spending thirty-odd quid on a couple of pizzas, a Caesar salad and a nice bottle of Rioja, and that when we hand over the credit card, we feel we've had our money's worth.

Gordon Ramsay is obviously in a completely different league and, having made a few inquiries about bookings etc, I'm already starting to beat myself up about this value-for-money' thing.

You see, I don't just want to have dinner at Gordon Ramsay's new place; I want to go the whole hog and book the 'Chef's Table' which is about twice the price.

The 'Chef's Table' is a single, exclusive table in the restaurant kitchen. It enables ordinary punters like you and me to actually hang out and watch Ramsay and his team at work as they prepare your meal.  Now that might not sound very exciting to you but it does to us and the four other friends who want to accompany us. And if you've ever read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, you'll know that it's bound to be a rather entertaining evening! 

To put it bluntly, (and you might splutter a little), it's a flat rate of £600 for a three-course meal for up to six people. Stick some wine on top of that and we'll probably be looking at a final bill of about £800 - £900 between us.

That's my dilemma, you see. I'm a Fool – and considering flights are going cheap these days, I reckon that all six of us could probably have a week's holiday next month in Gran Canaria for that sort of money.

I can't work out if £900 for dinner for six people is good value – even if Mr Ramsay himself has lovingly prepared the food right in front of my very eyes.

I keep telling myself that it's not just dinner. It'll really be dinner and a show. After all, watching a team of professionals shouting at each other in the kitchen of one of the poshest restaurants in town sounds like fun to me. And when you think of it like that, £150 a head doesn't sound that bad. Or does it? Is £900 an obscene amount of money to spend on a meal for six people?

We were discussing it with our friends last night and have decided that there are times in your life when, if you can afford it, you just have to blow the expense and go for it. So we're going to. It'll be an experience. And we can afford it. My husband and I might have to put off buying the new garden shed for a couple of months but I think it's about time we indulged in the living bit of living within our means.

I've decided to console myself with the thought that if it weren't for Fooldom, I wouldn't be in a position to even think about treating my husband to dinner at Claridge's. We've sorted out our emergency fund, our credit cards, our ISAs and our pensions as well as whole host of other things. Being Foolish means we can actually consider dining at Claridge's nowadays. Dining at Claridge's? Good Heavens! Why does that phrase fill me with a sudden urge to re-read Travels with my Aunt - or something by P.G. Wodehouse?

Fool on – and Happy Christmas!