Celebrity chef Rick Stein defends £2 charge for condiments at Cornwall restaurant

A celebrity chef's fish and chip shop restaurant in Cornwall has come under fire for raising the cost of its condiments.

Some customers dining at Stein's Fish & Chips in Padstow say they were were left "disappointed" after having to pay £2 for condiments including mayonnaise, tartar sauce and gravy.

Rick Stein's restaurant group, which owns a number of businesses in Cornwall, has blamed "skyrocketing costs" including food, energy and wage bills for the higher prices.

One customer wrote: "Rick Stein’s charging £2 for a sachet of mayonnaise to go with his £16.95 takeaway cod and chips in Padstow - unaffordable and so disappointing."

While another said: "You ask for some ketchup and need a mortgage."

The restaurant group said it had not increased condiment prices since 2020 despite rising costs but had put them up recently due to soaring prices.

A spokesperson has said: "Our homemade condiments (mayonnaise/tartare sauce) using Rick Stein’s special recipes are prepared in Padstow by our team of chefs with fresh well-sourced ingredients.

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

"We have held our condiment prices since 2020, but with sky rocketing costs, we have reluctantly, along with many others, had to pass on some of the costs to our customers”.