Celebrity chef Rick Stein has blamed meals inflation and rising power prices after charging clients £2 for condiments at his fish and chip restaurant in Cornwall.

Customers have been left underwhelmed after being requested to pay additional for the likes of mayonnaise, tartar sauce and mushy peas on the Padstow eatery.

A spokeswoman for the movie star chef defended Stein's Fish and Chips' determination to cost clients an additional £2 for condiments, arguing it's as a result of present financial local weather.

"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," she mentioned.

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

A traditional serving of cod and chips at Stein's Fish and Chips in Padstow is priced at £16.95, whereas its on-line menu shows sea bass and chips for £18.95. Customers can add a aspect of mushy peas for an additional £2.

Several individuals have expressed their "disappointment" on the prospect of paying for condiments, with some suggesting to "boycott" the eatery.

"Rick Stein's charging £2 for a sachet of mayonnaise to go with his £17.95 takeaway cod and chips in Padstow," journalist Rebecca Tidy wrote on X, previously often known as Twitter.

"He pays minimum wage, so workers would need to work two hours just to buy lunch. Cornwall's rich-poor divide is massive."

Another X person wrote: "That's pure greed, customers should vote with their feet at Rick Stein's fish restaurant and boycott it."

Content Source: information.sky.com