How much? The hidden costs of restaurant dishes

At Apricity an asparagus dish priced at £21 yields a restaurant profit of £1.65. Chef-patron Chantelle Nicholson notes vegetable plates can be more labour-intensive than they appear: asparagus can cost between £15 and £20 a kilo (it was £9/kg not so long ago) because it is hand-harvested and labour costs have risen.

The team clean and chop off woody ends to lacto-ferment, blanch and cool the stalks, then make a smoked emulsion, fried breadcrumbs from their in-house sourdough and a watercress purée; the emulsion uses aquafaba from pressure‑cooked chickpeas blended with smoked rapeseed oil from Duchy farm.

Ingredients for the dish run to about £3, while labour, energy and other costs amount to £56, which is spread across the menu. Hidden overheads add up.

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