Charlie Bigham launches new £30 ready meals as cost of eating out rises

Charlie Bigham is set to launch a new range of premium ready meals, costing up to £30, aimed at consumers increasingly deterred by the escalating price of eating out.

The entrepreneur's 'Brasserie' collection will debut in Waitrose this Wednesday, offering dishes such as a pre-prepared beef wellington for £29.95, a salmon wellington at £19.95, and coq au vin, duck confit, or venison bourguignon, each priced at £16.95.

Mr Bigham stated that the rising expense of restaurant dining was the primary driver behind the creation of his new line.

He explained: "Dining out has got more expensive – we love eating in restaurants but you look at the bill at the end of the night now and you think ‘ooh, this has gone up’."

He added, acknowledging the industry's challenges: "And that’s not to criticise our wonderful hospitality industry at all. Their costs keep going up."

Ultimately, he believes consumers are seeking the "dining-out occasion" but are "happier to do this in, rather than out," reflecting a broader shift in spending habits.

D’s new venison bourguignon uses wild-caught venison from the Scottish Highlands, including the royal Balmoral Estate. The salmon wellington is made with sashimi-grade salmon fillet and the firm claims that every beef wellington is hand-rolled.

The company hopes consumers will consider the range to be an alternative to a meal out in a cafe or restaurant. Hospitality businesses have been forced to put up prices as costs such as labour, energy and tax soar.

At the top end, the new meals will be almost three times as expensive as Charlie Bigham’s traditional offerings, which cost around £10 for a two-person serving of dishes such as chicken tikka masala, chicken ham and leek pie, and lasagne.

Despite the cost, Mr Bigham said he expected the range to have broad appeal among consumers.

“If you think about it, you get a pizza for two delivered for £16. And these are not just eaten by rich people in certain London postcodes.”

The average restaurant meal cost 4.9 per cent more in August than it did a year earlier, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Rising grocery price inflation has also hit consumers hard, with shoppers also increasingly seeing their favourite items altered both by ‘shrinkflation’ and cheaper ingredients.

Mr Bigham said his firm had turned to neither, with portion sizes and ingredients remaining unchanged in an effort to protect its reputation as a higher-quality producer.

He said: “Making high-quality food is our mantra, so if we have to make the choice, we’ll put prices up.”

Mr Bigham’s firm turned a £5 million profit on sales of £144 million last year.