I'm torn on it, I like difficult bastards and admire the simplicity of the concept, it reminds me of Le Baratin in Paris (though it does take credit cards) but the communist chic thing really puts me off. A portrait of Lenin? Why not a bust of Mussolini? Also I hate natural wines.
Well Andy, lots of good points here. I get some of the rambling from the Bittern, making cash in restaurants is tough, so taking cash only saves a chunk of credit and debit card costs. I also get the phone bookings, emailing for a reservation has become too easy, therefore easy to forget. But with hefty stipulations and a hefty attitude, the food has to compensate massively.
Now Andy, I agree with your thoughts on why the British public don’t like paying for food. God knows how many times I’ve seen shitty reviews about us,moaning about price and portion size.
I’ve looked at food history and it seems that food was related to wealth. If you had food, especially meat, you probably had land, so therefore wealthy. So having access to good and plentiful food was regarded as something which belonged to the upper classes.
Therefore, if you eat fancy or expensive food, you’re upper class.
And it’s likely that this has caused jealousy, a stigma even.
Coupled with the notion that many people think they can cook, and know the cost of ingredients because of their Friday night food shop.
But the other side of the coin is what the public will pay for. For example, a cocktail costing £14 is bought without complaint. After four of these they could have bought a meal, but complained that the meal was expensive.
That does make sense, thanks. The inverted snobbery thing is so true - some of the people that moan about restaurant prices are the same people who have a golf club membership, a football season ticket and drive a BMW. And that's such a good point about cocktails - and you could say the same about coffee in restaurants which must have a massive mark up. No one seems to bang on about that.
I think the whole Instagram rant was an orchestrated PR stunt. And it worked! Btw I get the impression from my work as a nutritionist, and friends abs neighbours that half of London is on appetite-curbing drugs Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro. US food companies are clear it is impacting their business and it must be here.
He's not going quietly, he's posted another couple of defensive/provocative things on Insta over the weekend. He wants to be left alone but also desperate for the controversy to carry on by the looks of it. Had really thought about the drug angle, very interesting.
Come up to the Highlands and have a look around. The reason that food is not as central to the way of life here as it is in Italy, France or Spain (the countries you compared it to) is purely climate oriented i.e. what can be grown here.
You only need to look at other Northern European countries to note that it’s a trend across this latitude.
I have been to the Highlands and looked around. Stunning. Don't you think there's enough that is grown, reared, shot and fished in the British Isles to create a real food culture around? What are we missing apart from citrus?
I wonder how he's taking to all this publicity. It's hard to tell because he's privatised his Instagram account. I don't know if that's something a communist should do. It's a shame he can't open a workers canteen where working people on modest incomes who don't feel guilty taking a lunch break can afford to eat away from their desks, without feeling as if ordering wine is going to be like an Indiana Jones style test. Or he could open in the evenings.
I can still see his Instagram. He seems to be quite sanguine about the whole thing. Posh people confidence perhaps. It does make you wonder who is doing his publicity because he got quite a lot of coverage even before that Instagram post. I get the feeling they'll just carry on as they are until it stops working and then do something else with the space. A cafe in a book shop just makes so much more sense.
I'm torn on it, I like difficult bastards and admire the simplicity of the concept, it reminds me of Le Baratin in Paris (though it does take credit cards) but the communist chic thing really puts me off. A portrait of Lenin? Why not a bust of Mussolini? Also I hate natural wines.
Boiled sausages and funky wine - it's just not calling to me.
Well Andy, lots of good points here. I get some of the rambling from the Bittern, making cash in restaurants is tough, so taking cash only saves a chunk of credit and debit card costs. I also get the phone bookings, emailing for a reservation has become too easy, therefore easy to forget. But with hefty stipulations and a hefty attitude, the food has to compensate massively.
Now Andy, I agree with your thoughts on why the British public don’t like paying for food. God knows how many times I’ve seen shitty reviews about us,moaning about price and portion size.
I’ve looked at food history and it seems that food was related to wealth. If you had food, especially meat, you probably had land, so therefore wealthy. So having access to good and plentiful food was regarded as something which belonged to the upper classes.
Therefore, if you eat fancy or expensive food, you’re upper class.
And it’s likely that this has caused jealousy, a stigma even.
Coupled with the notion that many people think they can cook, and know the cost of ingredients because of their Friday night food shop.
But the other side of the coin is what the public will pay for. For example, a cocktail costing £14 is bought without complaint. After four of these they could have bought a meal, but complained that the meal was expensive.
Does that make sense?
I think this response is longer than your post.
That does make sense, thanks. The inverted snobbery thing is so true - some of the people that moan about restaurant prices are the same people who have a golf club membership, a football season ticket and drive a BMW. And that's such a good point about cocktails - and you could say the same about coffee in restaurants which must have a massive mark up. No one seems to bang on about that.
Good point. I forgot about coffee. Off the top of my head you’re looking at 50p a pop for a good coffee. And staff labour is very small.
I think the whole Instagram rant was an orchestrated PR stunt. And it worked! Btw I get the impression from my work as a nutritionist, and friends abs neighbours that half of London is on appetite-curbing drugs Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro. US food companies are clear it is impacting their business and it must be here.
He's not going quietly, he's posted another couple of defensive/provocative things on Insta over the weekend. He wants to be left alone but also desperate for the controversy to carry on by the looks of it. Had really thought about the drug angle, very interesting.
Well my take, which I wrote in the light of several trips to Kherson - he can charge what he likes for a pie. But Lenin? No thanks.
“there are no truly remote areas in the UK“
Come up to the Highlands and have a look around. The reason that food is not as central to the way of life here as it is in Italy, France or Spain (the countries you compared it to) is purely climate oriented i.e. what can be grown here.
You only need to look at other Northern European countries to note that it’s a trend across this latitude.
I have been to the Highlands and looked around. Stunning. Don't you think there's enough that is grown, reared, shot and fished in the British Isles to create a real food culture around? What are we missing apart from citrus?
I wonder how he's taking to all this publicity. It's hard to tell because he's privatised his Instagram account. I don't know if that's something a communist should do. It's a shame he can't open a workers canteen where working people on modest incomes who don't feel guilty taking a lunch break can afford to eat away from their desks, without feeling as if ordering wine is going to be like an Indiana Jones style test. Or he could open in the evenings.
I can still see his Instagram. He seems to be quite sanguine about the whole thing. Posh people confidence perhaps. It does make you wonder who is doing his publicity because he got quite a lot of coverage even before that Instagram post. I get the feeling they'll just carry on as they are until it stops working and then do something else with the space. A cafe in a book shop just makes so much more sense.