Ikoyi chef justifies £320 tasting menu as he teams up with Uber Eats for ‘cheap’ delivery option
For two days this week, people will be able to try one of the world’s best (and most expensive) tasting menus for a fraction of the price.
Ikoyi, which currently ranks 35 in the World’s Best Restaurants, has teamed up with Uber Eats to offer a scaled back version of its £320 dinner.
Executive chef Jeremy Chan says the five-course delivery is probably the most “technical and refined” takeaway in the city, though some of the original dishes have been tweaked so they travel better.
To compensate for this, and for the trouble of having to fill up your own water after each sip, your bill will come in at a less eyewatering £60 per person.
But if you’re thinking this venture is a concession to those who baulk at the price of Chan’s two-Michelin starred menu (which comes in at almost £100 more than those at similarly lauded Core by Clare Smyth and The Ledbury)… it’s not.
“I don’t think people pay enough money for food, I think we charge too little, [but] we want to always be accessible to as many people as possible, we’re always trying our best to do that,” Chan tells the Money blog, before offering a detailed response to a (perhaps) hypothetical customer who wonders why a plate of fish is so expensive.
“You’re paying the fishermen, you’re paying for the person that’s transporting it. You’re paying for the logistics company, dry cleaning for the towels used to dry the fish, the paper towels that are being used to clean the guts of the fish, then waste disposal.”
The fish then goes through a five-day aging process.
“We have three dry-ageing chambers that are used to store exceptional produce from very, very small producers and just the running costs of those alone [are very high].”
He goes on: “So, that single piece of fish has gone through many, many steps to go from fishermen to me, and you haven’t even thought about the years of research and relationship building with the supplier. You can’t just call a wholesaler and say, give me the turbot that Ikoyi is using.”
All of which doesn’t cover Chan’s own work with the ingredients.
“I’m the one who peels the quail eggs. It’s not just boiled, peeled and put on a plate… the owner of the restaurant is standing there for four hours perfectly peeling these quail eggs.
“Think about the time – that’s the biggest cost in a restaurant that people don’t think about, one’s life, it’s my life.”
It’s perhaps no surprise, in light of all the above, that Chan sees his collaboration with Uber Eats as a one-off.
On the menu is:
- Mutton merguez sausage with a green goddess slaw
- Fried chicken with smoked scotch bonnet and raspberry
- Jollof rice and crab custard
- Suya tamari pork with mustard greens and kumquat
- Flower sugar cake with batak berry and Garigette strawberry
Pic: ely.bsc_photography
It’s the second Michelin tie up for Uber Eats after its £200 two-person tasting menu offering from Ynyshir in Wales, which was named best UK restaurant in 2022 and 2023.
The food will be delivered by a regular rider/driver, so Chan and his team have had to put thought into the ingredients.
“Everything on the menu has been designed to retain heat.
“For instance, the Merguez is made with a beautiful aged mutton shoulder, which has such deep, intense flavour. I don’t have to worry too much about the cooking temperature because it’s so fatty.
“We’re going to make a little note [for the customer] that says ‘quickly flash in the pan to bring it back to life, and it will still taste great’.
“A radicchio is obviously hearty, so it’s not going to break down.
“All the dishes, if people eat them cold, they are still going to be tasting nice and they’re also structurally sound so they don’t require assembly – we’re making something that can just be eaten straight away out of the box.”
The Ikoyi tasting menu is available in central London to Uber One customers on Friday and for everyone on Saturday, between 5-10pm.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
Read more from Sky News:
Survivor reflects on five years on from COVID
At least 12 people injured in shooting in Toronto
By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway