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The World's Most Expensive Christmas Food 2025
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00:01At Christmas time, we all like to splash out a bit.
00:09But what if this year, we went for it?
00:12Sold the house, the car, the kids, even the dog.
00:17And spent it all on one lavish, blowout Christmas feast.
00:22Merry Christmas.
00:23Treating ourselves to the most opulent foods in the world.
00:271.2 million pounds for a bottle of champagne.
00:31Heavy are in the region of £12,000.
00:34Just over £100,000 for the bottle.
00:36You're having a bubble, yeah.
00:38You can pay your way to eat like royalty.
00:41You'd experience the most fabulous flavours and textures.
00:45Buttery, succulent, delicious.
00:48It's kind of moussey on the tongue.
00:50When you taste it, it's a different class.
00:53Not forgetting the gold leaf.
00:55It doesn't really taste of anything, but it's definitely Christmassy.
00:59In this programme, we discover the trade secrets
01:02behind these luxury foods.
01:04We DNA test our caviar.
01:06Learn why premium turkey is so pricey.
01:09Lettles, blackberries and cherries.
01:11That's their go-to food.
01:13And what makes one Christmas dinner cost over £100,000?
01:18The Dentsuki watermelons coming in are around £2,600.
01:22Those watermelons have a good life.
01:25Plus, we feed two festive foodies the finest Christmas food and drink.
01:30Ooh! I was not expecting that.
01:33No.
01:34And ask, is the most expensive really worth the money?
01:37£220.
01:40No way.
01:41We've even got a designer panettone with its own spray on wine.
01:46Come on.
01:47You can just open your mouth.
01:49As we discover the world's most expensive Christmas food.
01:54Christmas is a time of food indulgence,
02:03when the super-rich buy the finest fare at the highest prices.
02:08Christmas is incredibly important to the luxury food industry.
02:12There's a whole other world of lavish spending going on
02:16and a whole group of people that are just going wild.
02:20So, if money really was no object,
02:24what would you want for the ultimate luxury Christmas dinner?
02:28If money was no object,
02:29I'd have the most phenomenal caviar
02:32to kick the whole Christmas feast off.
02:35I'm going to go for the absolute best turkey I can get.
02:39I would want a very good champagne.
02:43You're not the only one.
02:44Sales of fizz went up 4% last Christmas,
02:47showing that, despite everything,
02:49we Brits love to pop a cork when it's time to celebrate.
02:53There's an intrinsic link between fizz and celebration.
02:57You eat in this really indulgent way
03:00and a glass of fizz is a really big part of that.
03:05A bottle of champagne, if I see it at a good price.
03:08If not, my friend Marks and Spencer's do a nice hasty.
03:12In total, we splurged 187 million pounds on sparkling wine
03:22in the Christmas period last year.
03:24And when it comes to the cost of champagne, the sky's the limit.
03:28The most expensive bottle of champagne in history cost 1.2 million pounds.
03:34Goude de diamant, or taste of diamonds, made by champagne makers Chapuis,
03:40featured an 18-carat solid white gold label set with a flawless 19-carat white diamond.
03:47Anyone for a top-up?
03:491.2 million pounds for a bottle of champagne.
03:52That is a lot.
03:53But the thing that would intrigue me is that it's Grand Cru champagne.
03:56So the champagne is going to be exceptional.
03:59But I wouldn't like to take that blind taste test
04:03to figure out the difference between a 1.2 million bottle of champagne
04:08and a couple of hundred-pound bottle of champagne.
04:11Don't worry, Jimmy. Our budget doesn't stretch to that.
04:16So, is the most expensive Christmas food and drink worth all the money?
04:21We've asked two luxury food aficionados to help us find out.
04:26Gogglebox's Dom Parker is a former hotelier with impeccable standards.
04:32And Philippa Davis is a private chef who's catered to the super-rich.
04:37They will be tasting the most expensive festive fare money can buy
04:41to see if it's worth the money.
04:44I know it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.
04:47We absolutely love Christmas in our household.
04:50The feasting is just off the charts.
04:53It usually starts with champagne, Buck's Fizz.
04:56Classy.
04:57And then it goes downhill. Rapidly.
05:00To kick off their Christmas feast, a little drinky booze.
05:04And we have the most expensive cava in the world for them to try.
05:08Known as the champagne of Spain,
05:11cava is increasingly popular with discerning Christmas drinkers.
05:15Aged cava at the top end of the price range is a fascinating drink
05:20and worth seeking out.
05:22Made in Spain, made in exactly the same way as champagne is made,
05:25and it ages nicely as well.
05:28Philippa and Dom will be trying festive foods
05:31at three increasing price points.
05:34A pricey one, a pricier one, and the priciest we could find.
05:39In this round, they will be trying an organic Reserva cava from Waitrose for £13.
05:46A pricier biodynamic cava at £57.50.
05:51And the world's most expensive cava at £220 per bottle,
05:56the Cordonieux Grand Reserva Brut.
05:59But they won't know the prices until the end.
06:03First up, for the fizz, I've got Latza.
06:08It's bought from Waitrose.
06:10Cava Reserva.
06:11Aged for at least 15 months.
06:15OK.
06:21Oh!
06:22It's kind of moussey on the tongue.
06:23Yes, I'm sort of getting fruit juice.
06:25It has got that kind of...
06:27You're crunching into a cold, green apple.
06:29Yes.
06:30You could do a lot of damage to a bottle in no time at all.
06:35Steady on, Dom.
06:36You've got two more to try.
06:38Going up a notch of the premium scale.
06:40Next, the cava that costs £57.50.
06:48I'd say this one's kind of...
06:50It's more sophisticated.
06:53A little scowl on your face there.
06:55Yeah, I think that's a bit harsh.
06:57Ooh!
06:58I had a lot more fun with the first one.
07:01I almost feel like getting the trumpets out now,
07:03because what you are about to taste
07:05is the world's most expensive cava.
07:09Wow.
07:11OK.
07:12Give it a good sniff.
07:14That smells more like Christmas.
07:16Mmm!
07:20Mmm!
07:21It has got biscuity notes.
07:24It's got baked, bready notes.
07:26And to me, that tastes like Christmas.
07:28Mmm!
07:29The most expensive cava went down smoothly.
07:33But will Dom and Philippa think it's worth splashing out on
07:36when they find out the price?
07:38Pricey?
07:39Mm-hmm.
07:40Waitrose?
07:42£13.
07:44I think £13 for that is good value.
07:47Our biodynamic, Clarora, comes in at £57.50.
07:54Get out of here!
07:55Really?
07:57£57.50.
07:59Our priciest cava, no wait,
08:01the world's most expensive cava,
08:04comes in per bottle at £220.
08:11No way.
08:13Absolutely no way.
08:14Really.
08:15So your absolute clear winner then
08:17was the £13 from Waitrose.
08:23For a breakfast sparkling wine on Christmas morning,
08:25fundamentally, yes.
08:28I think this one is absolutely spectacular,
08:32but I have to be honest and say
08:34I'm going to go for the Waitrose £13.
08:37Well, how about that?
08:42Coming up, more luxurious Christmas treats
08:45at eye-popping prices.
08:47From caviar...
08:49A very small tin like this
08:51could cost about £800.
08:55..to smoked salmon.
08:57Oh, wild salmon.
08:58£129.50.
09:02I'm a little bit stunned.
09:14If you don't want the hassle of peeling your spuds
09:17and roasting your turkey,
09:18there's always the option of going to a restaurant
09:20for Christmas lunch.
09:22You don't have to join the supermarket pews.
09:24You don't have to pre-order your food months in advance.
09:27It's a place to get dressed up
09:29and kind of you can really celebrate
09:31without having to think about doing the washing up.
09:34Sounds good to me.
09:35But eating out on Christmas Day
09:37can be an expensive affair, whatever your budget.
09:40Even Toby Carvery, famous for their value roasts,
09:43are charging up to £75 for a three-course Christmas lunch.
09:47If you really want to go top-notch,
09:49then the most expensive Christmas lunch in Britain
09:52is at the Ritz.
09:53£670 a head buys you a six-course feast.
09:57That's not including drinks,
09:59but does include a five-piece live band
10:01and even a caricaturist.
10:03You are getting that gorgeous environment,
10:07this impeccable service.
10:09I would be amazed if people that can afford it
10:12and have spent that money
10:14walk out of there regretting it.
10:16It probably will be the most memorable Christmas
10:19that you've ever had.
10:21Well, I think for £670,
10:22I want the turkey to perform a Christmas dance for me.
10:24But one chef had a dream
10:29to push the Christmas culinary experience to its limits.
10:34My name is Ben Spalding
10:36and I designed a £125,000 Christmas dinner.
10:43Did you say £125,000?
10:46I think you're going to have to explain yourself, Ben.
10:49The food would have cost between £60,000 to £80,000,
10:53leaving the remaining amount to donate to charity
10:55and obviously pay my staff and suppliers.
10:57So, all for a good cause.
10:59In that case, what's for lunch?
11:02I've actually got the menu right here.
11:04So we've got, for the first serving,
11:06we've got a sharpener,
11:07Mediva Vodka and Piper Heiser Deck 1907 champagne,
11:11which is pre-World War I.
11:13So, yeah, incredibly special.
11:15The champagne is £37,000.
11:20And what about the food?
11:22The first course would have been bird's nest and owl musk caviar,
11:25150-year-old balsamic vinegar known as black gold
11:28and pate negra iberico ham on ham.
11:31The next course would have been a whole white alba truffle
11:33poached in pule de breast juice,
11:35sargol saffron and yubari king melon.
11:39You're looking between £2,000 to £4,000 for the truffles,
11:43for the exact type.
11:45Moving on to the mains.
11:48So the next course is a dodine of rare breed turkey
11:51with wagyu beef fillet and heart,
11:53wrapped in 50-carat gold leaf.
11:56Gold leaf, fun, flashy, but not much flavour.
12:01And what about dessert?
12:03The dessert would have been whipped kopi luwak and amide,
12:06premium chocolate with rare dentsuki watermelon.
12:09To you and me, that's a pudding of whipped coffee,
12:12chocolate and watermelon.
12:14The dentsuki watermelon's coming in around £2,600
12:18just for one watermelon.
12:20Those watermelons have a good life.
12:22And the kopi luwak coffee beans are particularly rare.
12:26They've been eaten by and passed through
12:28the digestive tract of a civet in Indonesia.
12:32That's what gives it the unique flavour.
12:34Mmm, you should see what happens when you feed it a mince pie.
12:38That coffee's going at around £1,000 a kilo
12:40last time I checked, so...
12:43But despite 300 hours of research and several negotiations,
12:47nobody finally took up Ben's most expensive Christmas feast.
12:51Though a Dubai prince was interested.
12:54I would have served it anywhere in the world.
12:56It was really about just delivering a great experience
12:58and for a great cause.
13:08Whether for a starter or as canapes,
13:10smoked salmon is an enduring luxury Christmas treat.
13:14Though it's gone from the preserve of the rich
13:16to a Christmas staple.
13:18Smoked salmon really came to popularity 20 or so years ago
13:23when our farming industry for salmon really blossomed.
13:26And that made it way more accessible and brought the price down.
13:29This would have been what, you know,
13:31the most privileged diners would have got.
13:34But now you can pay your way to eat like royalty.
13:39Speaking of royalty, the most expensive type of smoked salmon is called the royal fillet.
13:45The royal fillet is the premium cut from the salmon.
13:49It's the centre cut of the smoked salmon.
13:52Part of the reason it's so expensive is that we're actually discarding the belly and the top part of the fillet
13:58and we're just using that centre cut.
14:00It is phenomenal. The texture is absolutely spot on.
14:04Once you've tasted really good smoked salmon, it's very difficult to look back.
14:10Not great in a pot noodle though, is it?
14:15Back in the dining room, Dom and Philippa are going to put this to the test.
14:19And we're off. Let's get this Christmas feast underway.
14:23Yeah.
14:24For their starters, they'll be tasting royal fillets of smoked salmon
14:28at three increasingly expensive price points,
14:31beginning with a premium supermarket version.
14:34So this one is the Marks and Spencers smoked Scottish royal fillet.
14:44Oh, that cut beautifully. Look at that.
14:46It's got a lovely kind of shine to it.
14:49The M&S royal fillet costs £21, or £5.25 per 100 grams.
14:59I mean, that's pretty decadent.
15:01And it's very smooth.
15:02Mm-hm.
15:03It's delicious.
15:04I'd feel the flavour is quite short.
15:07Like, already it's kind of scattering off.
15:11I see what you mean.
15:12Yes, I've done sort of...
15:14It does feel like it's gone.
15:17Well, thank you, Marks and Spencers.
15:19Next, we are moving on to Harrods.
15:26This Harrods Faroe Islands royal fillet of smoked salmon costs £60,
15:31or £20 per 100 grams, nearly four times more than Marks's.
15:35Again, it kind of halves beautifully.
15:39Right, here we go.
15:44It's good, it's...
15:45But I think the first one was a little bit creamy, you know, a little softer.
15:50Mm-hm.
15:51A little bit more melty in the mouth, so to speak.
15:54I love that level of smoke.
15:56I think that is absolutely genius.
15:58Hold on.
15:59We've got the most expensive smoked salmon for you to try first.
16:03This royal fillet from independent producer H Foreman & Son
16:07comes in at £129.50.
16:09That's £64.75 per 100 grams.
16:13What is very special about this is that it's a wild salmon.
16:17Righto.
16:18I'm quite excited about this one.
16:20Oh, the flesh is so firm.
16:24Lovely.
16:29There's a deeper flavour.
16:30Mm.
16:31Much deeper flavour.
16:32Mm.
16:33I think it's really phenomenal.
16:34Mm.
16:35Really impressive.
16:36But will Dom and Philippa think the priciest smoked salmon is worth the dosh
16:40when they find out the price?
16:42Our wild salmon from H Foreman, £129.50 for the pack price.
16:51I'm a little bit stunned.
16:53I mean, it's very good.
16:54They're all very good.
16:56I can't genuinely say head on heart if he's worth the difference.
17:02For me, emotionally, I love the wild salmon.
17:04I think it's brilliantly done.
17:06Mm.
17:07Realistically, though, when I know the price,
17:10I have to say the one probably I'm most impressed with is the M&S.
17:17Definitely M&S all the way.
17:19So there we have it for our festive feast.
17:22The royal fillet from Marks & Spencer's will be on our table.
17:25Unless, of course, we win the lottery between now and then.
17:27Ah, yes.
17:28Yeah.
17:30It's another festive win for a premium supermarket.
17:33And with two rounds still to go,
17:35Philippa and Dom aren't loosening their grip on their wallets just yet.
17:39If you fancy a taste of the sea and want to push the boat out, sorry,
17:48then you might like to try caviar, one of the most expensive foods in the world.
17:54Caviar is known as the luxury food at Christmas.
17:58It can range from £30 a tin to £1,500 a tin.
18:03It's this really precious commodity that holds its wealth and holds its value
18:09in a way that a lot of other foodstuffs don't.
18:12If you have friends visiting for Christmas,
18:14then this is a real way to show off a little bit of elegance and finesse.
18:18Caviar comes from far-flung regions like the Caspian Sea.
18:24Laura King, known as the Caviar Queen,
18:27imports this luxurious delicacy to the UK,
18:31supplying high-end clients including Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and Claridge's.
18:36All of the money we make, we make in December.
18:39And that's because people, for Christmas, want to treat themselves.
18:43Let's go mad, let's have something absolutely delicious.
18:47So let's have caviar.
18:52Caviar is the unfertilised eggs of a female sturgeon,
18:56with the most prized varieties coming from the beluga sturgeon.
19:00Caviar is expensive for one reason.
19:03It's the length of time you've got to wait for the sturgeon to produce the eggs.
19:08So beluga, which we have here, you've got to wait 12 years.
19:14Careful, that's pricey stuff.
19:16So if you were buying this in the shops, you'd be paying in the region of £12,000.
19:22So it's quite a lot of money.
19:25It's so precious it must be handled with the utmost care and the correct utensil.
19:31So to taste caviar, it's recommended that you use either a mother of pearl or a horn spoon.
19:38If you used silver and you put it in there, it would oxidise.
19:42We couldn't have that. So what about the taste?
19:45So you dig in and you taste it on the back of your hand and you let it breathe and then you roll it round the mouth.
20:00It's very soft, very subtle, very creamy.
20:04Caviar has no smell at all and that's what you want.
20:07If it smells, then that's not good quality caviar.
20:10The little eggs pop on your tongue and they've got sort of nuttiness, butteriness, a slight bit of marine.
20:18But it's Alma's caviar, which is the most expensive in the world.
20:22And so rare, it's almost impossible to buy.
20:25But of course, the caviar queen has some.
20:28So this could cost per kilo £20-30,000.
20:34So that would make a price of a very small tin like this about £800.
20:49But caviar quality control is crucial too.
20:52Downstairs, daughter Holly is in charge.
20:56So this is the inside of the caviar fridge.
21:00These type of tins keep the air out really well and one of the biggest enemies of caviar is air.
21:06And there's a lot of TLC that goes into the tin.
21:10This is where those original tins are packed into smaller tins.
21:16They're also taste tested, quality checked, photos are taken.
21:21You also have to make sure that when they're packing the caviar, they're not applying too much pressure
21:26because otherwise it will cause the eggs to pop.
21:29And of course, top-end customers need to know they're getting the real deal.
21:34We here at King's DNA test our caviar so we can be 100% sure that what it says on the tin is inside the tin.
21:42That's Christmas sorted.
21:45If you've got a spare few thousand quid.
21:49Coming up, we find out what makes premium poultry extremely pricey.
21:58So our farming costs are typically three times the cost of normal.
22:02Woo!
22:04And discover if the most expensive Wagyu beef is worth it.
22:10700 cent pounds a kilo, about 160 pounds for that.
22:15So that's about a tenner.
22:17HE LAUGHS
22:20For many, the centrepiece of Christmas dinner is turkey.
22:36But there's a new kid on the luxury food block that's becoming a festive mainstay.
22:42Wagyu beef.
22:45The original Wagyu beef comes from Kobe Prefecture in Japan.
22:51He's a very specific breed, prized for the intramuscular fat.
22:57And what makes Wagyu beef so desirable and delicious is how the fat finds itself amongst the muscle tissue.
23:06What should it taste like?
23:08Buttery, succulent, delicious, real bovine notes coming through.
23:13And if you can get it from Japan and you get the top grade A5, you are really rocking it.
23:22So, is the most expensive beef really worth the price tag?
23:27Philippa and Dom are the ones to find out.
23:30For their mains, they will try three Wagyu beef fillet cuts at increasingly extravagant prices.
23:36From pricey Waitrose, pricier independent farm Winford Wagyu,
23:41and the priciest Japanese A5 Wagyu from Harrods at £775 a kilo.
23:48Yes, you heard it right.
23:50And remember, they won't know the prices until the end.
23:53We've got here the fillet cut, so the most expensive cut on the cow.
24:01Their first Wagyu sample is from Waitrose at £90 a kilo.
24:05Oh!
24:06It slides.
24:07I could probably use a spoon, actually.
24:08Who needs a knife when you've got Wagyu?
24:09There we go.
24:10Look at that.
24:11That is beautiful.
24:12It's lovely.
24:13It's very nice.
24:14The texture is, it's very smooth.
24:15I would have expected it to be even more melt in the mouth, though, if you're kind of championing it as Wagyu.
24:29Yeah.
24:30I wouldn't necessarily go, wow, that's Wagyu.
24:33Next, Wagyu from Winfred's at £210 a kilo.
24:40Oh, beautiful pink colour, that.
24:43The meat looks really gorgeous.
24:45Yeah, that looks like a different ballgame altogether.
24:49Looks are one thing, but it's all about the flavour.
24:56For me, that beef flavour is outrageously good.
25:01Mmm.
25:02Mmm.
25:03Mmm.
25:04Mmm.
25:05Mmm.
25:06It sounds like that's hitting the spot.
25:10That is a totally different ballgame.
25:13Now for the priciest Wagyu of all, imported from Japan at £775 a kilo.
25:20It's a different pink, it's a lighter pink.
25:23Mmm-hmm.
25:24You expect to see that kind of more pinkish colour rather than red colour, because it's got so much of that intricate web, fat marbling in there.
25:33Savour it, guys.
25:35At that price, we've not got any more.
25:40I mean, if you're talking about Wagyu beef being like butter, that is the kind of definition of it there.
25:46This is very soft, very elegant.
25:48I'll tell you something, though.
25:49I mean, that is incredibly rich.
25:50You'd only want a very small piece of that, which is lucky, because it's very expensive.
25:54Well, I was just thinking, actually, I think I could eat a lot of that.
25:58You'd be asleep.
26:00Mmm.
26:03Later, they discover the prices and decide if paying top dollar for Wagyu is really worth it.
26:13Wagyu beef might be making waves on our Christmas dinner tables,
26:16but over half of us still go for the traditional turkey.
26:21Turkeys can start at less than £20.
26:24But if money is no object, premium turkeys can cost £150 and go up from there.
26:31£150, did you say? You're having a bubble, wouldn't you?
26:35For a turkey?
26:36You wouldn't catch me paying that. No way. No way.
26:40You heard right.
26:41But with independent brands and supermarkets stocking rather pricey poultry,
26:45there must be something to it.
26:48And one rare breed that fetches the highest prices is the traditional bronze turkey.
26:57So I have eaten bronze turkeys. As a family, we had them every single year,
27:02and I'm telling you now, they are phenomenal.
27:04To find out what makes bronze turkeys so expensive, we found a turkey farmer to explain it to us.
27:14Good morning.
27:16Which is good, because otherwise this bit wouldn't make any sense.
27:20Paul Kelly's parents started growing turkeys in the 1970s.
27:25Good morning, guys.
27:30Now he runs the family farm, and their premium turkeys are a little bit like family.
27:36I can talk to them.
27:38Do you know what? I've been doing this my whole life, and I still love doing that.
27:46And his customers tend to have deeper pockets.
27:51We're here on one of our free-range farms in the depths of Essex.
27:54These are our Christmas turkeys.
27:57You can get them in parrads, fortnums, selfridges.
28:00We supply all the top-end stores in London and across the country.
28:04Today, his breed of turkey commands a hefty price, but for decades, customers weren't interested.
28:10Our Christmas turkey business is all about bronze turkeys, which is the old traditional breed.
28:16They disappeared in the 1950s purely for aesthetics, because when you pluck a bronze turkey,
28:23there's little black feather stubs left in the skin.
28:26When you pluck a white turkey, you don't see the feather stub.
28:30But I'm glad we stuck to what we did.
28:34You get a real pleasure out of producing something really special.
28:36So what does make these special turkeys so pricey?
28:41Well, it turns out, quite a lot.
28:44They're a slow-growing breed, free-range, which of course takes an awful lot of labour.
28:49And we're growing them for a lot longer.
28:53So if you grow the bird to maturity, it's got intramuscular fat.
28:57It's laid all its meat down, its muscle, so you get a lot more meat.
29:01And basically, the older the bird, the better flavour.
29:03The birds also get treated to a fine diet of their favourite treats.
29:09Turkeys love nettles.
29:11Nettles, blackberries and cherries.
29:13That's their go-to food.
29:15And it all adds to the high price.
29:17So our farming costs are typically three times the cost of normal.
29:22And then we dry pluck them by hand.
29:26That enables you to hang the turkey.
29:28And hanging it is a maturing process of the meat.
29:32All that's incredibly expensive.
29:34Paul is confident the way the birds are grown makes for a better flavour.
29:37I really do think our turkeys taste that much better.
29:41And if you don't believe me, then we are going to go now and we will put one in the oven.
29:45We'll cook it, we'll carve it and we'll taste it.
29:47And you'll see the difference.
29:48In the farm kitchen, Paul preps his prized poultry.
29:59So these black feather stubs on the skin that we've hand plucked, that is the sole reason the bronze turkey disappeared.
30:06But authenticity does not come cheap.
30:10So a turkey like this, five and a half kilos, would typically be about 120 quid.
30:15You should be able to get the skin where that breast meat, that fat is, and you should be able to pinch that fat and it should be staying upright like that.
30:26And on a younger, cheaper turkey, that won't happen.
30:30But the great thing about fat is it gives mouthfeel and it gives flavour.
30:33The fat also means it doesn't require a three-hour roasting marathon.
30:40Because of the intramuscular fat, it cooks at twice the speed, so it will cook this one, typically five kilo, in about an hour and a half.
30:47As Paul carves his turkey ready for plating, his mature bird has one more trick up its wing.
30:55The fatty skin allows you to make turkey crackling.
30:58You can only do that with a super premium turkey, because you need that subcutaneous fat.
31:04Mmm, turkey crackling. Sign me up.
31:07Why is it worth the money?
31:09The white meat, the breast meat, you'll get about 50% more. It has so much more flavour.
31:15You can make this beautiful turkey crackling. And of course, when you taste it, it's a different class.
31:20To decide if the poshest Christmas nosh is worth the dosh, we've been sampling Britain's newest Christmas craze, wagyu beef.
31:35Philippa and Dom have tried the finest Japanese wagyu that money can buy, against some still pricey competitors.
31:44I think I could eat a lot of that.
31:46Will they decide the highest price is worth it?
31:49The priciest per kilo.
31:54£775.
31:59For our little festive feast then, that would have cost us about £160.
32:04So, that's about a tenner.
32:07When it comes down to it, is the most expensive piece of wagyu beef worth splashing out for?
32:16I think it is.
32:20I think it is.
32:21If you're going to go, I want the real McCoy, top dollar, wagyu steak, you've got to pay the £160.
32:30For me, it's got to be the Winford.
32:35The flavour in this one just blew my socks off.
32:38A split decision this time, Philippa backing the British-reared beef, while Dom says top-tier wagyu is worth splashing out for.
32:52After your main course and Christmas pud, it's traditional to have cheese and enjoy a drop of port.
32:59Port, at Christmas, I think it used to be sort of seen as fuddy-duddy, but it is really delicious.
33:07It's rich, it's something that you only want in quite a small quantity, but it just feels like it can just be Christmas in a glass.
33:14Port is a fortified wine, originally from Portugal, and comes in a variety of types, including white, tawny, ruby and rosé.
33:26And when it comes to buying eye-wateringly priced fine wines, Sotheby's, on London's Bond Street, is the stomping ground for the ultra-wealthy.
33:38But even by their standards, the world's most expensive bottle of port raised an eyebrow or two.
33:45It went for just over £100,000 for the bottle.
33:48It was an 1863 knee port. There were only five made. It came in a most wonderful Lalique decanter.
34:00In 2018, Sotheby's arranged a charity auction in Hong Kong to sell this bespoke crystal decanter,
34:07specially made by Parisian glassware artists Lalique, to hold 1.5 litres of the 160-year-old port.
34:14So a very, very venerable vintage, and it was not just a bottle, it was a demi-john, so a larger bottle.
34:23Knee Port is a family-run port house, and one of the oldest in Portugal.
34:28But what would port that's almost 160 years old actually taste like?
34:34One of the lovely things about port is it does keep incredibly well.
34:37Having tasted port from the 19th century at similar styles, there's a nuttiness.
34:44There's all sorts of flavours, including toffee and caramel, that come through as the bottle gets older and older.
34:52And so this would be very drinkable, and I've had port from the 19th century that's been holding up very well.
34:56So, who fancies a tipple?
35:00Over 100 grand for a 160-year-old port. I mean, as long as I'm not paying, I'm there.
35:07That's as close to time travel as you're gonna get, you know, getting that sense of tasting something that was made that long ago.
35:15You're getting to experience, you know, the reign of Queen Victoria, and that is why, for the super wealthy, they want a piece of that.
35:27And when it comes to Christmas, it's not just the expensive port that gets pulled out.
35:33How about the most expensive bottle of red?
35:35In October 2018, we sold a bottle of Romani Conti, 1945, for US$558,000.
35:44That was the highest price ever achieved, and that has not been surpassed since then.
35:50And if your red wine or port deserves a companion to match, prepare for cheese that's in a class of its own.
35:57If you really have some money, then you can pay for cheese that's bluer than any you've ever seen in your life.
36:06Spanish Cabrales cheese is one of the bluest, strongest, and costliest out there.
36:13Restaurateur Ivan Suarez paid 37,000 euros for two and a half kilos of the stuff in 2025, making it the world's most expensive cheese.
36:24It's aged in the limestone caves of the Picos de Europa mountains in northern Spain.
36:33It's cave-aged, it's apparently gorgeous to eat, but it does feel kind of like the bluest cheese imaginable.
36:43And, of course, people with the most money would want something that not only tastes good, but feels like the most vivid and striking thing ever.
36:52Hope you've left room for some sweet stuff. After the break, we tuck into the most expensive panettone.
37:04Absolutely fabulous.
37:06I mean, it's pretty rich and buttery.
37:09And meet the chef who made mince pies for three and a half grand each.
37:14Hopefully one of the most delicious mince pies that you've had.
37:16When it comes to splashing the cash on festive food, one Christmas treat has risen in popularity recently.
37:36Panettone is a real Christmas phenomenon.
37:41At some point in the last 20 years, we really fell in love with panettone in the UK.
37:46Remember, panettone is a bread, so it's different from Christmas cake.
37:51Good panettone, fluffy, light, complex, a bit buttery.
37:55But one of the best things about them is the packaging. They're kind of almost like Christmas presents in themselves.
38:02This traditional Christmas sweet bread hails from Milan and is taken very seriously by the Italians.
38:08Italians are incredibly proud of their food tradition. And as with many of their foods, they impose rules on what makes an authentic panettone.
38:17To be deemed a real Italian panettone, it must be composed of no less than 20% candied fruit and 16% butter.
38:26During my time at Selfridges, I created a unique salted caramel panettone. Now we in Britain loved it, our Italian friends not so much.
38:33Finally, some sweet stuff for Dom and Philippa.
38:40They will try three panettone at escalating price points.
38:44From a pricey premium supermarket, a pricier posh department store, and at the top end, a designer number by Dolce & Gabbana and Sicilian pastry makers Fiasco Naro.
38:56It comes with its own spritz bottle of wine, very chic, at £86.95.
39:01Panettone's in Italy, they've been around four centuries. But I kind of feel in the UK, they're more of a recent thing.
39:09Yes, they started turning up in our house about 15 years ago. Not a moment too soon in my book. I absolutely love it.
39:16First up, a premium supermarket panettone at £12.
39:23This is the Marks & Spencer classic panettone, and I have to say, it looks glorious. A thing of beauty.
39:33Mm-mm-mm-mm. Mm-mm-mm. Mm-mm-mm. Mm-mm-mm.
39:43Yes, that's absolutely fabulous. It's pretty rich and buttery.
39:48I would be exceedingly happy to have one of these at home.
39:54That's a strong start. Mm.
39:57I'd be quite happy to stop there.
39:59Keep going, Dom. Two left.
40:02Next, Fortnum & Mason's classic panettone at £49.95.
40:06It's beautiful. It's just tearing into those lovely, glorious strands.
40:15God, the fruit in here is absolutely stunning.
40:19So juicy, so plump. Mm.
40:22Real kind of bursts of festive joy. Mm-hmm.
40:26I think we're just going uphill all the way.
40:30Is that good?
40:31Next, Dolce & Gabbana and their spritzy wine on the side.
40:36I'm assuming we have to spritz it on there, or ourselves.
40:39Funnily enough, I've never done that before in my life,
40:42goes spritz, spritz, spritz with one of those things.
40:45You could just open your mouth and do it in there.
40:50That's enough of that.
40:52What does it taste like?
40:54You've got that silky strand that we were after.
40:58Textbook. Mm.
41:01I mean, that's pretty delicious.
41:04Spritzing, clearly super fun,
41:07but does it make that bigger difference?
41:10I think the panettone is fine as it is.
41:14I'm not sure that's bringing anything to the party.
41:16Well, so our Dolce & Gabbana panettone,
41:21that would cost £86.95 a kilo.
41:26I don't think it's worth the jump.
41:28My absolute favourite has to be the Fortnum & Mason.
41:33It really is, yeah.
41:35And let's face it, Dolce & Gabbana,
41:37not necessarily known for catering, are they?
41:41So it's a win for the posh department store panettone.
41:44Across the taste tests, the priciest Christmas food was one of their favourites only once,
41:50the wagyu from Harrods.
41:54All in all, the most expensive doesn't necessarily always mean it's the best.
41:59Absolutely. Merry Christmas.
42:02Merry Christmas to you too.
42:12We're almost completely stuffed,
42:15but like all good Brits, we've got room for one more mince pie.
42:18Maybe one of Chef Ben Tish's creations, if we can afford it.
42:24It came about through a food festival that I was involved with,
42:29to make the most expensive mince pie.
42:32And he certainly did.
42:33A single mince pie cost £3,500.
42:38Or a tray of six cost a staggering £21,000.
42:43And that was back in 2012.
42:46But it was for charity.
42:48And Ben crammed his pies full of the most expensive ingredients.
42:53For starters, the pastry wasn't your regular pastry.
42:57We had a little bit of foie gras in there as well.
43:00Instead of the suet, we used a bit of foie gras.
43:03But actually it worked better than suet,
43:04because it just had more flavour.
43:06More of a kind of a rich flavour.
43:09As for the fruity mince meat filling...
43:12We used white truffle essence,
43:14but also lots of fresh white alba truffle in there.
43:17So when you bit it, you got a real hit of this truffle.
43:20Those truffles can cost thousands of pounds a kilo.
43:24The other key thing was the booze.
43:28So nice boozy mince pie with booze on the side.
43:32So there's Remy Martin cognac Louis XIII,
43:35which is pretty expensive and rare.
43:38And to top it all off...
43:41We decided to put some gold leaf on.
43:43Doesn't really taste of anything, but it's definitely Christmassy.
43:46That was a nice touch.
43:48So just how appealing were these mince pies?
43:50It had to be, hopefully, one of the most delicious mince pies that you've had.
43:56You'd certainly want, if you were paying for it, you'd certainly want it to be.
43:59Right?
44:03Christmas foods at these top prices might be the preserve of the super wealthy,
44:09unless you're going to sell it all for one festive blowout.
44:13I'm not sure I'm going to sell the house in order to buy these incredibly luxurious foods.
44:19But I will, and I always do, go the extra mile
44:22and make sure that I am having nicer food at Christmas time to enjoy with my family and loved ones.
44:28Ultimately, isn't it about bringing family and friends together and having really good fun?
44:32It's really good fun.
44:33It's really good fun.
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