Is This The World’s Most Expensive Valentine’s Day Dinner?
In what may be the most expensive Valentine’s Day dinner in the world, British website VeryFirstTo has partnered with GreatBritishChefs.com to offer an eight-course meal for the equivalent of $100,748. Eater reported the meal will feature a menu specifically designed by acclaimed chef Adam Simmonds to include aphrodisiac ingredients. Simmonds, whose restaurant Adam Simmonds at Dansfield House was Michelin rated, is pairing his menu with some of the most expensive wines in the world.
The ingredients
Part of what makes this meal so expensive is the ingredients list. This list includes some of the most expensive products in the world in incredibly large quantities. Examples include more than $5,000 of Almus white caviar, $3,000 of gold leaf, $3,000 in amethyst bamboo salt and almost $200 of Pacific Bluefin tuna, a fish whose population decreases have spurred conservation efforts. Due to the sustainability issue surrounding the inclusion of bluefin on the menu, Simmonds is offering a substitution of pickled Mackerel.
It isn’t only the ingredients list that are jacking up the prices, the wine list also includes some of the most expensive bottles in the world. The total wine pairing list features six bottles, a half bottle and a magnum for a combined value of over $50,000. The most expensive single bottle is the 1990 La Romanee-Conti, Domain de la Romanee-Conti, worth more than $27,742.30.
The menu
The menu was created by chef Adam Simmonds to highlight certain ingredients traditionally thought to be aphrodisiacs. The eight-course meal includes:
- Native Oysters with Almus White Caviar (served with South Sea pearls)
- Slow-cooked Duck Egg with Iberico Ham, Alexanders and Spring White Truffle
- Pacific Bluefin Tuna with Chorizo, Watermelon and Ponzu
- Confit Foie Gras with Smoked Eel and Granny Smith Apple
- Saffron Risotto with Carabineros Prawn and Gold Leaf
- Wagyu Beef, Fermented Celeriac, Hops and Silver Leaf served on dry ice
- Brillat Savarin with Perigord Truffle Salad and Truffle Honey
- Mast Brothers Ltd Reserve Vanilla and Smoked Chocolate with Kopi Luwak Ice Cream
Details
The meal is being offered to residents of the Greater London area, though it can be purchased by those residing outside of the area as long as the diner covers the transportation fees. The experience is enhanced by the inclusion of a harpist, poet, candles, petals and doves to set the right ambience. This meal also comes with a philanthropic twist: Should the meal be purchased, the organizers will donate 1,000 pounds to charity.
