Gourmet restaurants are tightening their belts – Some are making luxury even more expensive

A pack of butter costs about 50% more than it did a year ago. The increase in gas and electricity prices due to the war in Ukraine does not leave haute cuisine unaffected either.

“Energy costs are a big problem,” says Bjorn Swanson. He is the chef and owner of the gourmet restaurant “faelt” in Berlin. Employees and partners are now trained “to cut costs wherever possible,” he says. Saving resources to keep a restaurant at the level of Michelin-starred restaurants is often about ‘common sense’. This includes, for example: “Lights off, no unnecessary use of water, not leaving refrigerators open for no reason,” he adds.

In Frankfurt’s famous vegan restaurant “Seven Nanos” they have switched to energy-efficient appliances. “We have a large gas stove, but we only use it after 7 p.m.,” explains star chef Ricky Saward. But many restaurant owners have learned from previous crises,” explains Björn Swanson from Berlin. “During the pandemic many of us restaurateurs have found ways to work effectively under difficult conditions. We live in a different, new world with challenges and we have to adapt,” he says.

Controlled price increase

That’s why they don’t want to raise the prices on the menu at “faelt”. The menu largely avoids fish and meat and cooks 90% only with vegetables. An eleven-course menu costs 126 euros. To be able to hold the prices requires imagination, he says. On the other hand at the restaurant with the most Michelin stars in Germany, “Reber’s Pflug” in Baden-Württemberg they had to raise the prices, says a colleague. A six-course menu now costs 148 euros.

Also, at the “Seven Dwarfs” in Frankfurt, they were forced to raise prices, explains the owner. 15 dishes cost 159 euros, while until two years ago they cost 129 euros. “Since we have always had very high-quality and sustainable products and bought them from local markets, the price increases in this area are not that big,” explains Markus Pape, chef at Meisenheimer Hof in Meisenheim in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The luxury part of gourmet restaurants

Calculation and monitoring of prices is continuous. An eight-course tasting menu costs 129 euros, while a six-course vegetarian menu costs 99 euros. “To keep the prices stable we review the portion sizes and make adjustments here,” explains Marcus Pape.

The Dehoga restaurant association believes that the award-winning gourmet restaurants will also entice their customers with new offers. Foodies who certainly have the money will not stop visiting these restaurants. Besides, after all these months of pandemic confinement, people are happy to go out and enjoy good food again. At the gourmet restaurant level, luxury is directly intertwined with the product.

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