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Charlie Bigham is launching a range of ready meals in supermarkets priced from up to £30 in a bid to attract consumers frustrated by the rising cost of eating out.
Entrepreneur’s new brasserie range launched Waitrose Shoppers on Wednesday are willing to pay £29.95 for a pre-made beef Wellington, £19.95 for salmon Wellington and £16.95 for coq au vin, duck confit and venison bourguignon.
Mr Bigham said the rising cost of eating out in restaurants was the inspiration for the new range.
He said: “Eating out has become expensive – we love to eat in restaurants but now you look at the bill at the end of the night and think ‘Oh, it’s added up’.
“And this is not meant to criticize our wonderful hospitality industry at all. Their costs are going up.
“But people still want the opportunity to eat out, but are more happy to do so inside rather than outside.”
Charlie Bigham’s new Venison Bourguignon uses wild-caught venison scottish highlandsWhich also includes the royal Balmoral Estate. The Salmon Wellington is made with sashimi-grade salmon fillets and the firm claims each beef Wellington is rolled by hand.
The company hopes that consumers will consider this range as an alternative to eating out at a café or restaurant. Hospitality businesses have been forced to raise prices due to rising costs such as labor, energy and taxes.
At the top end, the new food will be almost three times as expensive as Charlie Bigham’s traditional offerings, with dishes such as chicken tikka masala, chicken ham and leek pie and lasagna costing around £10 for two people.
Despite the cost, Mr Bigham said he expected the range to have wide appeal among consumers.
“If you think about it, you get a pizza delivered for two people for £16. And it’s not just eaten by the rich few London Postal Kode.”
The average price of a restaurant meal in August was 4.9% higher than a year earlier, according to data from National Statistical Office (ONS).
Rising grocery price inflation has also hit consumers hard, with shoppers also seeing changes in their favorite items due to both ‘shrinkage’ and cheaper ingredients.
Mr. Bigham said his company has not turned to either, keeping portion sizes and ingredients unchanged in an effort to protect its reputation as a high-quality producer.
He said: “Creating high quality food is our mantra, so if we have to choose, we will raise prices.”
Mr Bigham’s firm made a profit of £5 million on sales of £144 million last year.