Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge slammed for £35 fish and chips

A Michelin-starred chef has been slammed by trolls for selling pricey fish and chips while the country battles a ‘cost of living crisis’.

Tom Kerridge, a famous TV chef who owns a string of restaurants across the UK, sells a plate of fish and chips for a staggering £35.

The budget-busting price will get you one battered fish and eight chips.

Tom’s notorious chippy dish is up for grabs at Kerridge’s Fish and Chips, located at luxury department store Harrods in London.

The 49-year-old defended the dish, saying: ‘This Market Day Fish is made with my light and crisp, gluten free batter and served with triple cooked chips.

Brits have lambasted the chef for selling one battered fish and eight chips for over £30

‘It includes Matson curry sauce, tartare sauce and pease pudding’ he added.

Unfortunately it’s done little to calm angry Brits who’ve lambasted the price as insensitive during a time of economic hardship. 

One person said: ‘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’ they said sarcastically alongside a thumbs up emoticon.

Tom defended the price, and revealed that it’s ‘made with light and crisp, gluten free batter and served with triple cooked chips’

Some customers say they deserve more than eight chips amid the country’s cost of living crisis

The ‘Market Day Fish’ (circled) dish is sold at one of his restaurants at luxury department store Harrods in London

Another added: ‘Eight chips and a tiny thin bit of fish? This is pretentious b**ocks’.

Meanwhile one person urged Brits to back their local chippies, writing: ‘How much? Just go to the local chippy, so much better quality’.

‘Or just go to the chip shop and pay a fiver’ said another.

Also in disbelief at the price, someone wrote: ‘Ridiculous price to charge. Especially with the cost-of-living-crisis.

‘Shame on them’.

One other person said: ‘Wafer thin fish and eight chips. Television chefs are all becoming so out of touch with Joe Public’.

Still, one person was keen to find out what all the fuss is about, writing: ‘Just waiting for the remortgage application to come through and I’ll be there’.

Another person didn’t mind the price, adding: ‘This is going to be the best fish and chips you’ll have in your whole life’.

Although most customers questioned the value of the pricey dish, a rare few defended it, with one saying it was the ‘best fish and chips you’ll have in your whole life’

The famous chef has appeared on TV shows like Masterchef and Saturday Kitchen, and runs eight restaurants including Hand of Flowers and The Coach both in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. 

The outrage follows a recent report indicating that half of the UK’s chippies could shut down by 2025.

It is due to owners struggling to cope with rising energy bills and supply shortages.

Similarly, a historic chip shop which has been serving customers in a Derbyshire town for over 60 years is closing due to the cost of living crisis.

Owner Dennis Jackson, 84, said his age and the rising cost of food and energy were behind the decision to shut Jackson’s Chippie in Ilkeston.

He said the last couple of years had been difficult. Chip shops have been particularly hit, due to the cost of sunflower oil and energy. He said the price of fish went up by £100 in the space of a fortnight, while the shop’s gas bill is set to quadruple.

He said: ‘It was a bit of a shock. You can’t absorb that sort of price increase so you’d just got to pass it on. That made my fish instead of being £3.60 it went up to £6. We had to put £2.40 on it just to stand still,’ he said.

Add on chips and it’s currently £7.80.

‘I think it’s cheap compared to other shops but for a lot of people it’s made it too expensive so trade’s not so good. Fish and chips should be the cheapest meal out, but it’s a struggle for a lot of people.

‘Anybody can stand here and give the stuff away, but you still need to make a bit of profit at the end of the day’.