Restaurateurs grapple with food costs as dairy prices spike
Restaurateurs are being forced to fork out more and more to create Brits’ favourite dishes, with the sharpest price hikes among dairy, grains and meat.
Dairy costs have surged the most, with increases of up to 40 per cent, according to data from around one thousand pubs and restaurants collected by Fourth.
Grains, including pasta and bread, have also rocketed by 35 per cent, as has meat.
Chefs have also adapted menus, either by cutting down options available or swapping out pricey ingredients with cheaper alternatives.
Speaking to CityA.M. in May, Young’s CEO Patrick Dardis said the pub chain had switched salmon for fresh trout after steep price increases.
“Pork is cheaper than chicken and so we have the ability to flex menus on a daily basis,” he added.
While many other businesses have followed suit, other chains have been insistent that they will stick to the same dishes/
Fuller’s boss Simon Emeny previously said it was “very important to give customers what they want and not, for example, take chicken off the menu because it’s a little bit more expensive than you used to see it.”
“We’re not taking items off the menu just to save money,” he added, while acknowledging that “some proteins” had seen prices spike.
“These stark figures highlight the extent of the damage that rising costs are having on the hospitality and leisure market, engulfing and suffocating businesses and consumers alike,” Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said.
Hospitality chains have been forced to increase prices for customers, while diners themselves face a cost crunch with household bills sky-rocketing.
“The impacts of rising costs are being felt across every facet of running a hospitality business, including on jobs and recruitment, economic stability, business viability, consumer confidence and willingness to spend,” Nicholls added.
“You can only put prices up so much before you end up scaring people away,” according to restauranter Charles Tyler, who owns Paladar in Elephant and Castle.
While destination venues will likely still enjoy customers celebrating special occasions and enjoying their post-pandemic freedoms, the casual dining sector may suffer in the coming months as Brits pull back from discretionary spending, Tyler told CityA.M. earlier this summer.
“I do fear a bit for the hospitality industry for the next year,” he warned.
Industry bodies including UKHospitality have called on ministers to help the sector as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic amid the historic inflation rates.