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The World's Most Expensive Christmas Food 2025
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00:00But what if this year we went for it, sold the house, the car, the kids, even the dog and spent it all on one lavish blowout Christmas feast.
00:17Merry Christmas.
00:18Treating ourselves to the most opulent foods in the world.
00:221.2 million pounds for a bottle of champagne.
00:26We are in the region of 12,000 pounds.
00:28Just over 100,000 pounds for the bottle.
00:31You're having a bubble.
00:32You can pay your way to eat like royalty.
00:36You'd experience the most fabulous flavours and textures.
00:40Buttery, succulent, delicious.
00:43It's kind of moussey on the tongue.
00:45When you taste it, it's a different class.
00:48Not forgetting the gold leaf.
00:50It doesn't really taste of anything, but it's definitely Christmassy.
00:54In this programme, we discover the trade secrets behind these luxury foods.
01:00We DNA test our caviar.
01:02Learn why premium turkey is so pricey.
01:05Nettles, blackberries and cherries.
01:07That's their go-to food.
01:09And what makes one Christmas dinner cost over 100 grand?
01:14The Dentsuki watermelons coming in are around 2,600 pounds.
01:18Those watermelons have a good life.
01:20Plus, we feed two festive foodies the finest Christmas food and drink.
01:25Ooh!
01:26I was not expecting that.
01:28No.
01:29And ask, is the most expensive really worth the money?
01:33Two hundred and twenty pounds.
01:36No way.
01:38We've even got a designer panettone with its own spray on wine.
01:41Come on.
01:42You can just open your mouth.
01:44As we discover the world's most expensive Christmas food.
01:50Christmas is a time of food indulgence, when the super rich buy the finest fare at the highest prices.
02:03Christmas is incredibly important to the luxury food industry.
02:07There's a whole other world of lavish spending going on, and a whole group of people that are just going wild.
02:16So, if money really was no object, what would you want for the ultimate luxury Christmas dinner?
02:23If money was no object, I'd have the most phenomenal caviar to kick the whole Christmas feast off.
02:30I'm gonna go for the absolute best turkey I can get.
02:34I would want a very good champagne.
02:37You're not the only one. Sales of fizz went up four percent last Christmas, showing that despite everything,
02:44we Brits love to pop a cork when it's time to celebrate.
02:49There's an intrinsic link between fizz and celebration.
02:52You eat in this really indulgent way, and a glass of fizz is a really big part of that.
03:00A bottle of champagne, if I see it at a good price. If not, my friend Marks and Spencer's do a nice hasty.
03:07In total, we splurged 187 million pounds on sparkling wine in the Christmas period last year.
03:18And when it comes to the cost of champagne, the sky's the limit.
03:23The most expensive bottle of champagne in history cost 1.2 million pounds.
03:29Gout de diamant, or taste of diamonds, made by champagne makers Chapuis, featured an 18-carat solid white gold label set with a flawless 19-carat white diamond.
03:42Anyone for a top-up?
03:441.2 million pounds for a bottle of champagne, that is a lot.
03:48But the thing that would intrigue me is that it's Grand Cru champagne, so the champagne is going to be exceptional.
03:55But I wouldn't like to take that blind taste test to figure out the difference between a 1.2 million bottle of champagne and a couple of hundred pound bottle of champagne.
04:07Don't worry, Jimmy. Our budget doesn't stretch to that.
04:12So, is the most expensive Christmas food and drink worth all the money?
04:17We've asked two luxury food aficionados to help us find out.
04:22Gogglebox's Dom Parker is a former hotelier with impeccable standards.
04:27And Philippa Davis is a private chef who's catered to the super rich.
04:32They will be tasting the most expensive festive fare money can buy, to see if it's worth the money.
04:39I know it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.
04:42We absolutely love Christmas in our household. The feasting is just off the charts.
04:48It usually starts with champagne, Buck's Fizz.
04:51Classy.
04:52And then it goes downhill. Rapidly.
04:55To kick off their Christmas feast, a little drinky booze.
04:59And we have the most expensive cava in the world for them to try.
05:03Known as the champagne of Spain, cava is increasingly popular with discerning Christmas drinkers.
05:10Aged cava at the top end of the price range is a fascinating drink and worth seeking out.
05:16Made in Spain, made in exactly the same way as champagne is made, and it ages nicely as well.
05:22Philippa and Dom will be trying festive foods at three increasing price points.
05:29A pricey one, a pricier one, and the priciest we could find.
05:35In this round, they will be trying an organic reserva cava from Waitrose for £13.
05:42A pricier biodynamic cava at £57.50.
05:47And the world's most expensive cava at £220 per bottle, the Cordonieux Grand Reserva Brut.
05:55But they won't know the prices until the end.
05:59First up, for the fizz, I've got Latzar. It's bought from Waitrose.
06:05Cava Reserva, aged for at least 15 months.
06:10OK.
06:16Oh! It's kind of moussey on the tongue.
06:18Yes, I'm sort of getting fruit juice.
06:20It has got that kind of you're crunching into a cold green apple.
06:24Yes. You could do a lot of damage to a bottle like this in no time at all.
06:28Steady on, Dom. You've got two more to try.
06:32Going up a notch of the premium scale.
06:35Next, the cava that costs £57.50.
06:43I'd say this one's kind of... It's more sophisticated.
06:48A little scowl on your face there.
06:50Yeah, I think that's a bit harsh.
06:52Ooh! I had a lot more fun with the first one.
06:55I almost feel like getting the trumpets out now
06:58because what you are about to taste is the world's most expensive cava.
07:04Wow. OK.
07:06Give it a good sniff.
07:09That smells more like Christmas.
07:11Mmm!
07:16It has got biscuity notes.
07:19It's got baked, bready notes.
07:22And to me, that tastes like Christmas.
07:24Mmm.
07:25The most expensive cava went down smoothly.
07:29But will Dom and Philippa think it's worth splashing out on
07:32when they find out the price?
07:34Pricey.
07:35Mmm.
07:36Waitrose.
07:38£13.
07:40I think £13 for that is good value.
07:43Our biodynamic clarora comes in at £57.50.
07:49Get out of here.
07:50Really?
07:52£57.50.
07:54Our priciest cava, no wait, the world's most expensive cava,
07:59comes in per bottle at £220.
08:06No way.
08:08Absolutely no way.
08:09Really.
08:10So your absolute clear winner then was the £13 from Waitrose.
08:18For a breakfast sparkling wine on Christmas morning?
08:22Fundamentally, yes.
08:23I think this one is absolutely spectacular.
08:27But I have to be honest and say I'm going to go for the Waitrose £13.
08:32Well, how about that?
08:33Coming up, more luxurious Christmas treats at eye-popping prices.
08:42From caviar...
08:44A very small tin like this could cost about £800.
08:50...just smoked salmon.
08:52Our wild salmon, £129.50.
08:57I'm a little bit stunned.
09:03If you don't want the hassle of peeling your spuds and roasting your turkey,
09:14there's always the option of going to a restaurant for Christmas lunch.
09:18You don't have to join the supermarket queues,
09:20you don't have to pre-order your food months in advance.
09:23It's a place to get dressed up and kind of you can really celebrate
09:27without having to think about doing the washing up.
09:29Sounds good to me.
09:31But eating out on Christmas Day can be an expensive affair, whatever your budget.
09:35Even Toby Carvery, famous for their value roasts,
09:39are charging up to £75 for a three-course Christmas lunch.
09:43If you really want to go top-notch,
09:45then the most expensive Christmas lunch in Britain is at the Ritz.
09:49£670 a head buys you a six-course feast.
09:53That's not including drinks,
09:54but does include a five-piece live band and even a caricaturist.
09:59You are getting that gorgeous environment.
10:03It's impeccable service.
10:05I would be amazed if people that can afford it
10:08and have spent that money walk out of there regretting it.
10:11It probably will be the most memorable Christmas that you've ever had.
10:16Well, I think for £670, I want the turkey to perform a Christmas dance for me.
10:19But one chef had a dream
10:25to push the Christmas culinary experience to its limits.
10:29My name is Ben Sporting,
10:31and I designed a £125,000 Christmas dinner.
10:38Did you say £125,000?
10:42I think you're going to have to explain yourself, Ben.
10:45The food would have cost between £60,000 to £80,000,
10:47leaving the remaining amount to donate to charity
10:50and obviously pay my staff and suppliers.
10:52So, all for a good cause.
10:54In that case, what's for lunch?
10:57I've actually got the menu right here.
10:59So we've got, for the first serving, we've got a sharpener,
11:02Mediva Vodka and Piper Heiser Deck 1907 champagne,
11:06which is pre-World War I.
11:08So, yeah, incredibly special.
11:10The champagne is £37,000.
11:13And what about the food?
11:16The first course would have been bird's nest and owl musk caviar,
11:20150-year-old balsamic vinegar, known as black gold,
11:24and pate negra iberico ham on ham.
11:27The next course would have been a whole white alba truffle poached in
11:29pule de brest juice, sargol saffron and yubari king melon.
11:34You're looking between £2,000 to £4,000 for the truffles, for the exact type.
11:42Moving on to the mains.
11:44So the next course is a dodeen of rare breed turkey, with wagyu beef fillet and heart,
11:49wrapped in 50-carat gold leaf.
11:51Gold leaf, fun, flashy, but not much flavour.
11:56And what about dessert?
11:58The dessert would have been whipped kopi luak and amaday, premium chocolate,
12:03with rare dentsuki watermelon.
12:05To you and me, that's a pudding of whipped coffee, chocolate and watermelon.
12:09The dentsuki watermelon's coming in at around £2,600,
12:13just for one watermelon.
12:15Those watermelons have a good life.
12:17And the kopi luak coffee beans are particularly rare.
12:21They've been eaten by, and passed through,
12:24the digestive tract of a civet in Indonesia.
12:28That's what gives it the unique flavour.
12:30You should see what happens when you feed it a mince pie.
12:33That coffee's going at around £1,000 a kilo, last time I checked.
12:36But despite 300 hours of research and several negotiations,
12:42nobody finally took up Ben's most expensive Christmas feast,
12:46though a Dubai prince was interested.
12:49I would have served anywhere in the world.
12:51It was really about just delivering a great experience and for a great cause.
12:54Whether for a starter or as canapes, smoked salmon is an enduring luxury Christmas treat.
13:09Though it's gone from the preserve of the rich to a Christmas staple.
13:12Smoked salmon really came to popularity 20 or so years ago when our farming industry for salmon really blossomed.
13:21And that made it way more accessible and brought the price down.
13:25This would have been what, you know, the most privileged diners would have got.
13:30But now you can pay your way to eat like royalty.
13:33Speaking of royalty, the most expensive type of smoked salmon is called the royal fillet.
13:40The royal fillet is the premium cut from the salmon.
13:44It's the centre cut of the smoked salmon.
13:47Part of the reason it's so expensive is that we're actually discarding the belly and the top part of the fillet and we're just using that centre cut.
13:54It is phenomenal. The texture is absolutely spot on. Once you've tasted really good smoked salmon, it's very difficult to look back.
14:05Not great in a pot noodle though, is it?
14:10Back in the dining room, Dom and Philippa are going to put this to the test.
14:15And we're off.
14:17Let's get this Christmas feast underway.
14:18Yeah.
14:19For their starters, they'll be tasting royal fillets of smoked salmon at three increasingly expensive price points, beginning with a premium supermarket version.
14:30So this one is the Marks and Spencer's Smoked Scottish Royal Fillet.
14:39Oh, that cart beautifully. Look at that.
14:42It's got a lovely kind of shine to it.
14:44The M&S Royal Fillet costs £21, or £5.25 per 100 grams.
14:55I mean, that's pretty decadent.
14:57And it's very smooth.
14:58Mm-hmm.
14:59It's delicious.
15:00I'd feel the flavour is quite short.
15:02Like, already it's kind of scattering off.
15:06I see what you mean.
15:07Yes, I've done sort of...
15:09It does feel like it's gone.
15:11Well, thank you, Marks and Spencers.
15:14Next, we are moving on to Harrods.
15:21This Harrods Faroe Islands Royal Fillet of Smoked Salmon costs £60, or £20 per 100 grams, nearly four times more than Marks's.
15:31Again, it kind of palves beautifully.
15:35Right, here we go.
15:39It's good, it's...
15:41But I think the first one was a little bit creamy, you know, a little softer.
15:46Mm-hmm.
15:47A little bit more melty in the mouth, so to speak.
15:51I love that level of smoke.
15:52I think that is absolutely genius.
15:53Hold on, we've got the most expensive smoked salmon for you to try first.
15:58This Royal Fillet from independent producer H Foreman & Son comes in at £129.50.
16:05That's £64.75 per 100 grams.
16:09What is very special about this is that it's a wild salmon.
16:12Well, hi-do. I'm quite excited about this one.
16:15Oh, the flesh is so firm.
16:18Lovely.
16:19Lovely.
16:22Mm.
16:24There's a deeper flavour.
16:25Mm.
16:26Much deeper flavour.
16:27Mm.
16:28I think it's really phenomenal.
16:29Mm.
16:30Really impressive.
16:31But will Dom and Philippa think the priciest smoked salmon is worth the dosh when they find out the price?
16:37Our wild salmon from H Foreman, £129.50 for the pack price.
16:46I'm a little bit stunned.
16:48I mean, it's very good.
16:50They're all very good.
16:52I can't genuinely say head on heart if he's worth the difference.
16:57For me, emotionally, I love the wild salmon.
17:00I think it's brilliantly done.
17:02Realistically, though, when I know the price, I have to say the one that probably I'm most impressed with is the M&S.
17:11Definitely M&S all the way.
17:14So there we have it for our festive feast.
17:16The royal fillet from Marks and Spencers will be on our table.
17:20Unless, of course, we win the lottery between the others.
17:22Oh, yes.
17:23Yeah.
17:25It's another festive win for a premium supermarket.
17:29And with two rounds still to go, Philippa and Dom aren't loosening their grip on their wallets just yet.
17:38If you fancy a taste of the sea and want to push the boat out, sorry, then you might like to try caviar, one of the most expensive foods in the world.
17:48Caviar is known as the luxury food at Christmas.
17:53It can range from £30 a tin to £1,500 a tin.
17:58It's this really precious commodity that holds its wealth and holds its value in a way that a lot of other foodstuffs don't.
18:07If you have friends visiting for Christmas, then this is a real way to show off a little bit of elegance and finesse.
18:13Caviar comes from far-flung regions like the Caspian Sea.
18:19Laura King, known as the Caviar Queen, imports this luxurious delicacy to the UK, supplying high-end clients, including Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and Claridge's.
18:32All of the money we make, we make in December, and that's because people for Christmas want to treat themselves.
18:38Let's go mad, let's have something absolutely delicious, so let's have caviar.
18:47Caviar is the unfertilised eggs of a female sturgeon, with the most prized varieties coming from the beluga sturgeon.
18:54Caviar is expensive for one reason. It's the length of time you've got to wait for the sturgeon to produce the eggs.
19:04So beluga, which we have here, you've got to wait 12 years.
19:08Careful, that's pricey stuff.
19:10So if you were buying this in the shops, you'd be paying in the region of £12,000, so it's quite a lot of money.
19:20It's so precious it must be handled with the utmost care, and the correct utensil.
19:25So to taste caviar, it's recommended that you use either a mother-of-pearl or a horn spoon.
19:33If you used silver, and you put it in there, it would oxidise.
19:37We couldn't have that. So what about the taste?
19:41So you dig in, and you taste it on the back of your hand.
19:48And you let it breathe, and then you...
19:54..roll it round the mouth. It's very soft, very subtle, very creamy.
20:00Caviar has no smell at all, and that's what you want.
20:03If it smells, then that's not good quality caviar.
20:05The little eggs pop on your tongue, and they've got sort of nuttiness, butteriness, a slight bit of marine.
20:13But it's Alma's caviar, which is the most expensive in the world,
20:18and so rare, it's almost impossible to buy.
20:21But, of course, the caviar queen has some.
20:24So this could cost, per kilo, £20,000, £30,000.
20:29So that would make a price of a very small tin, like this, about £800.
20:44But caviar quality control is crucial, too.
20:48Downstairs, daughter Holly is in charge.
20:51So this is the inside of the caviar fridge.
20:54These type of tins keep the air out really well, and one of the biggest enemies of caviar is air.
21:01And there's a lot of TLC that goes into the tin.
21:05This is where those original tins are packed into smaller tins.
21:11They're also taste-tested, quality-checked, photos are taken.
21:16You also have to make sure that when they're packing the caviar,
21:18they're not applying too much pressure, because otherwise it will cause the eggs to pop.
21:24And, of course, top-end customers need to know they're getting the real deal.
21:29We 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.
21:38That's Christmas sorted.
21:40If you've got a spare few thousand quid.
21:42Coming up, we find out what makes premium poultry extremely pricey.
21:54So our farming costs are typically three times the cost of normal.
22:01And discover if the most expensive Wagyu beef is worth it.
22:04700 cent funds a kilo, about 160 pounds for that.
22:10So that's about a tenner.
22:28For many, the centrepiece of Christmas dinner is turkey.
22:31But there's a new kid on the luxury food block that's becoming a festive mainstay.
22:38Wagyu beef.
22:40The original Wagyu beef comes from Kobe Prefecture in Japan.
22:46He's a very specific breed, prized for the intramuscular fat.
22:51And what makes Wagyu beef so desirable and delicious is how the fat finds itself amongst the muscle tissue.
23:02What should it taste like?
23:04Buttery, succulent, delicious, real bovine notes coming through.
23:09And if you can get it from Japan and you get the top grade A5, you are really rocking it.
23:13So, is the most expensive beef really worth the price tag?
23:23Philippa and Dom are the ones to find out.
23:26For their mains, they will try three Wagyu beef fillet cuts at increasingly extravagant prices.
23:31From pricey Waitrose, pricier independent farm Winford Wagyu, and the priciest Japanese A5 Wagyu from Harrods at 775 pounds a kilo.
23:43Yes, you heard it right.
23:45And remember, they won't know the prices until the end.
23:47We've got here the fillet cut, so the most expensive cut on the cow.
23:56Their first Wagyu sample is from Waitrose at 90 pounds a kilo.
24:03Oh, it slides. I could probably use a spoon, actually.
24:07Who needs a knife when you've got Wagyu?
24:10There we go. Look at that. That is beautiful.
24:12It's lovely. It's very nice. The texture is very smooth.
24:19I would have expected it to be even more melt in the mouth, though, if you're kind of championing it as Wagyu.
24:25Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily go, wow, that's Wagyu.
24:31Next, Wagyu from Winfreds at 210 pounds a kilo.
24:37Oh, beautiful pink colour, that. The meat looks really gorgeous.
24:40Yeah, that looks like a different ballgame altogether.
24:46Looks are one thing, but it's all about the flavour.
24:50For me, that beef flavour is outrageously good.
24:56Mmm.
24:59Mmm.
25:01Mmm.
25:03It sounds like that's hitting the spot.
25:05That is a totally different ballgame.
25:07Now for the priciest Wagyu of all, imported from Japan at 775 pounds a kilo.
25:15It's a different pink. It's a lighter pink.
25:19Mm-hmm.
25:20You expect to see that kind of more pinkish colour rather than red colour,
25:24because it's got so much of that intricate web, fat marbling in there.
25:27Savour it, guys. At that price, we've not got any more.
25:35I mean, if you're talking about Wagyu beef being like butter, that is the kind of definition of it there.
25:41This is very soft, very elegant.
25:44I'll tell you something, though. I mean, that is incredibly rich.
25:46You'd only want a very small piece of that, which is lucky, because it's very expensive.
25:50Well, I was just thinking, actually, I think I could eat a lot of that.
25:54You'd be asleep.
25:55Later, they discover the prices and decide if paying top dollar for Wagyu is really worth it.
26:08Wagyu beef might be making waves on our Christmas dinner tables,
26:12but over half of us still go for the traditional turkey.
26:15Turkeys can start at less than £20.
26:20But if money is no object, premium turkeys can cost £150 and go up from there.
26:27£150, did you say? You're having a bubble, wouldn't you?
26:30For a turkey?
26:32You wouldn't catch me paying that. No way. No way.
26:35You heard right.
26:37But with independent brands and supermarkets stocking rather pricey poultry,
26:41there must be something to it.
26:43And one rare breed that fetches the highest prices is the traditional bronze turkey.
26:52So I have eaten bronze turkeys. As a family, we had them every single year,
26:58and I'm telling you now, they are phenomenal.
27:02To find out what makes bronze turkeys so expensive,
27:06we found a turkey farmer to explain it to us.
27:09Good morning.
27:10Which is good, because otherwise this bit wouldn't make any sense.
27:15Paul Kelly's parents started growing turkeys in the 1970s.
27:21Good morning, guys.
27:25Now he runs the family farm,
27:28and their premium turkeys are a little bit like family.
27:30I can talk to them.
27:31Do you know what? I've been doing this my whole life, and I still love doing that.
27:41And his customers tend to have deeper pockets.
27:45We're here on one of our free-range farms in the depths of Essex.
27:49These are our Christmas turkeys.
27:52You can get them in parrods, fortnums, selfridges.
27:55We supply all the top-end stores in London and across the country.
27:59Today, his breed of turkey commands a hefty price.
28:03But for decades, customers weren't interested.
28:05Our Christmas turkey business is all about bronze turkeys, which is the old traditional breed.
28:11They disappeared in the 1950s purely for aesthetics.
28:15Because when you pluck a bronze turkey, there's little black feather stubs left in the skin.
28:20When you pluck a white turkey, you don't see the feather stub.
28:24But I'm glad we stuck to what we did.
28:29You get a real pleasure out of producing something really special.
28:32So what does make these special turkeys so pricey?
28:36Well, it turns out, quite a lot.
28:39They're a slow-growing breed, free-range, which of course takes an awful lot of labour.
28:44And we're growing them for a lot longer.
28:48So if you grow the bird to maturity, it's got intramuscular fat,
28:51it's laid all its meat down, its muscle, so you get a lot more meat.
28:56And basically, the older the bird, the better flavour.
28:59The birds also get treated to a fine diet of their favourite treats.
29:04The turkeys love nettles.
29:06Nettles, blackberries and cherries.
29:08That's their go-to food.
29:11And it all adds to the high price.
29:14So our farming costs are typically three times the cost of normal.
29:17And then we dry pluck them by hand.
29:21That enables you to hang the turkey.
29:24And hanging it is a maturing process of the meat.
29:27All that's incredibly expensive.
29:29Paul is confident the way the birds are grown makes for a better flavour.
29:33I really do think our turkeys taste that much better.
29:36And if you don't believe me, then we are going to go now and we will put one in the oven.
29:40We'll cook it, we'll carve it and we'll taste it.
29:42And you'll see the difference.
29:43In the farm kitchen, Paul preps his prized poultry.
29:54So these black feather stubs on the skin that we've hand plucked,
29:58that is the sole reason the bronze turkey disappeared.
30:02But authenticity does not come cheap.
30:04So a turkey like this, five and a half kilos, would typically be about 120 quid.
30:10You should be able to get the skin where that breast meat, that fat is,
30:16and you should be able to pinch that fat and it should be staying upright like that.
30:21And on a younger, cheaper turkey, that won't happen.
30:24But the great thing about fat is it gives mouthfeel and it gives flavour.
30:29The fat also means it doesn't require a three-hour roasting marathon.
30:35Because of the intramuscular fat, it cooks at twice the speed,
30:38so it will cook this one, typically five kilo, in about an hour and a half.
30:43As Paul carves his turkey ready for plating, his mature bird has one more trick up its wing.
30:49The fatty skin allows you to make turkey crackling.
30:54You can only do that with a super premium turkey,
30:57because you need that subcutaneous fat.
30:59Mmm, turkey crackling. Sign me up.
31:02Why is it worth the money?
31:04The white meat, the breast meat, you'll get about 50% more.
31:08It has so much more flavour.
31:10You can make this beautiful turkey crackling.
31:13And of course, when you taste it, it's a different class.
31:18To decide if the poshest Christmas nosh is worth the dosh,
31:27we've been sampling Britain's newest Christmas craze, wagyu beef.
31:32Philippa and Dom have tried the finest Japanese wagyu that money can buy,
31:36against some still pricey competitors.
31:39I think I could eat a lot of that.
31:41Will they decide the highest price is worth it?
31:44The priciest per kilo.
31:49£775.
31:53For our little festive feast then, that would have cost us about £160.
31:59So, that's about a tenner.
32:01When it comes down to it, is the most expensive piece of wagyu beef worth splashing out for?
32:11I think it is.
32:14I think it is.
32:16If you're going to go, I want the real McCoy top dollar wagyu steak,
32:21you've got to pay the £160.
32:25For me, it's got to be the Winford.
32:30The flavour in this one just blew my socks off.
32:34A split decision this time.
32:37Philippa backing the British-reared beef,
32:39while Dom says top-tier wagyu is worth splashing out for.
32:43After your main course and Christmas pud, it's traditional to have cheese and enjoy a drop of port.
32:55Port, at Christmas, I think it used to be sort of seen as fuddy-duddy, but it is really delicious.
33:02It's rich, it's something that you only want in quite a small quantity,
33:06but it just feels like it can just be Christmas in a glass.
33:12Port is a fortified wine, originally from Portugal,
33:16and comes in a variety of types, including white, tawny, ruby and rosé.
33:23And when it comes to buying eye-wateringly priced fine wines,
33:26Sotheby's, on London's Bond Street, is the stomping ground for the ultra-wealthy.
33:32But even by their standards,
33:35the world's most expensive bottle of port raised an eyebrow or two.
33:39It went for just over £100,000 for the bottle.
33:47It was a 1863 Nieport. There were only five made.
33:51It came in a most wonderful Lalique Takanta.
33:53In 2018, Sotheby's arranged a charity auction in Hong Kong
33:59to sell this bespoke crystal decanter,
34:02specially made by Parisian glassware artists Lalique,
34:05to hold 1.5 litres of the 160-year-old port.
34:10So a very, very venerable vintage.
34:13And it was not just a bottle, it was a demijohn, so a larger bottle.
34:18Nieport is a family-run port house
34:20and one of the oldest in Portugal.
34:23But what would port, that's almost 160 years old, actually taste like?
34:29One of the lovely things about port is it does keep incredibly well.
34:33Having tasted port from the 19th century, it's similar style.
34:38There's a nuttiness.
34:39There's all sorts of flavours, including toffee and caramel,
34:44that come through as the bottle gets older and older.
34:47And so this would be very drinkable.
34:49And I've had port from the 19th century that's been holding up very well.
34:53So, who fancies a tipple?
34:56Over 100 grand for a 160-year-old port.
34:59I mean, as long as I'm not paying, I'm there.
35:03That's as close to time travel as you're gonna get, you know,
35:07getting that sense of tasting something that was made that long ago.
35:12You're getting to experience, you know, the reign of Queen Victoria,
35:14and that is why, for the super wealthy, they want a piece of that.
35:22And when it comes to Christmas,
35:24it's not just the expensive port that gets pulled out.
35:27How about the most expensive bottle of red?
35:31In October 2018, we sold a bottle of Romani Conti, 1945,
35:36for US$558,000.
35:39That was the highest price ever achieved
35:41and that has not been surpassed since then.
35:45And if your red wine or port deserves a companion to match,
35:50prepare for cheese that's in a class of its own.
35:54If you really have some money,
35:56then you can pay for cheese that's bluer
35:59than any you've ever seen in your life.
36:02Spanish Cabrales cheese is one of the bluest, strongest,
36:06and costliest out there.
36:09Restaurateur Ivan Suarez paid 37,000 euros for two and a half kilos of the stuff in 2025,
36:18making it the world's most expensive cheese.
36:21It's aged in the limestone caves of the Picos de Europa mountains in northern Spain.
36:29It's cave-aged, it's apparently gorgeous to eat,
36:33but it does feel kind of like the bluest cheese imaginable.
36:37And of course, people with the most money would want something that not only tastes good,
36:43but feels like the most vivid and striking thing ever.
36:47Hope you've left room for some sweet stuff.
36:55After the break, we tuck into the most expensive panettone.
37:00Absolutely fabulous.
37:01I mean, it's pretty rich and buttery.
37:04And meet the chef who made mince pies for three and a half grand each.
37:09Hopefully, one of the most delicious mince pies that you've had.
37:12When it comes to splashing the cash on festive food,
37:29one Christmas treat has risen in popularity recently.
37:33Panettone is a real Christmas phenomenon.
37:36At some point in the last 20 years, we really fell in love with panettone in the UK.
37:41Remember, panettone is a bread, so it's different from Christmas cake.
37:46Good panettone, fluffy, light, complex, a bit buttery.
37:51But one of the best things about them is the packaging.
37:53They're kind of almost like Christmas presents in themselves.
37:57This traditional Christmas sweet bread hails from Milan
38:01and is taken very seriously by the Italians.
38:03Italians are incredibly proud of their food tradition.
38:07And as with many of their foods,
38:08they impose rules on what makes an authentic panettone.
38:12To be deemed a real Italian panettone,
38:15it must be composed of no less than 20% candied fruit and 16% butter.
38:21During my time at Selfridges, I created a unique salted caramel panettone.
38:25Now, we in Britain loved it, our Italian friends not so much.
38:28Finally, some sweet stuff for Dom and Philippa.
38:35They will try three panettone at escalating price points.
38:39From a pricey premium supermarket, a pricier posh department store,
38:44and at the top end, a designer number by Dolce & Gabbana
38:48and Sicilian pastry makers Fiasco Naro.
38:50It comes with its own spritz bottle of wine, very chic, at £86.95.
38:57Panettone's in Italy, they've been around four centuries,
39:01but I kind of feel in the UK they're more of a recent thing.
39:04Yes, they started turning up in our house about 15 years ago.
39:08Not a moment too soon in my book. I absolutely love it.
39:11First up, a premium supermarket panettone at £12.
39:18This is the Marks & Spencer classic panettone,
39:24and I have to say, it looks glorious.
39:28A thing of beauty.
39:29Mm, mm, mm.
39:36Mm.
39:38Yes, that's absolutely fabulous.
39:41It's pretty rich and buttery.
39:44I would be exceedingly happy to have one of these at home.
39:49That's a strong start.
39:52I'd be quite happy to stop there.
39:54Keep going, Dom. Two left.
39:56Next, Fortnum & Mason's classic panettone at £49.95.
40:02It's beautiful, it's just tearing into those lovely, glorious strands.
40:11God, the fruit in here is absolutely stunning.
40:14So juicy, so plump.
40:17Real kind of bursts of festive joy.
40:20Mm-hmm.
40:22I think we're just going uphill all the way.
40:24Is that good?
40:27Next, Dolce & Gabbana and their spritzy wine on the side.
40:31I'm assuming we have to spritz it on there, or ourselves.
40:34Funnily enough, I've never done that before in my life,
40:37go spritz, spritz, spritz with one of those things.
40:40You could just open your mouth and do it in there.
40:41That's enough of that.
40:43What does it taste like?
40:45You've got that silky strand that we were after.
40:49Textbook.
40:51Mm.
40:53Mm.
40:55I mean, that's pretty delicious.
40:57Spritzing, clearly super fun.
40:59But does it make that bigger difference?
41:01I think the panettone is fine as it is. I'm not sure that's bringing anything to the party.
41:08Well, so our Dolce & Gabbana Panettone, that would cost £86.95 a kilo.
41:22I don't think it's worth the jump.
41:23My absolute favourite has to be the Fortnum & Mason.
41:28It really is, yeah.
41:30And let's face it, Dolce & Gabbana are not necessarily known for catering, are they?
41:36So it's a win for the posh department store panettone.
41:40Across the taste tests, the priciest Christmas food was one of their favourites only once,
41:46the Wagyu from Harrods.
41:47All in all, the most expensive doesn't necessarily always mean it's the best.
41:55Absolutely. Merry Christmas.
41:57Merry Christmas to you too.
42:07We're almost completely stuffed.
42:10But like all good Brits, we've got room for one more mince pie.
42:13Maybe one of Chef Ben Tish's creations, if we can afford it.
42:19It came about through a food festival that I was involved with
42:24to make the most expensive mince pie.
42:27And he certainly did.
42:29A single mince pie cost £3,500.
42:33Or a tray of six cost a staggering £21,000.
42:37And that was back in 2012.
42:41But it was for charity.
42:43And Ben crammed his pies full of the most expensive ingredients.
42:48For starters, the pastry wasn't your regular pastry.
42:52We had a little bit of foie gras in there as well.
42:55Instead of the suet, so we used a bit of foie gras.
42:58But actually it worked better than suet, because it just had more flavour.
43:01More of a kind of a rich flavour.
43:04As for the fruity mince meat filling...
43:07We used white truffle essence, but also lots of fresh white alba truffle in there.
43:12So when you bit it, you got a real hit of this truffle.
43:15Those truffles can cost thousands of pounds a kilo.
43:19The other key thing was the booze.
43:23So nice boozy mince pie with booze on the side.
43:26So there's Remy Martin cognac Louis XIII, which is pretty expensive and rare.
43:33And to top it all off...
43:36We decided to put some gold leaf on.
43:38Doesn't really taste of anything, but it's definitely Christmassy.
43:41That was a nice touch.
43:43So just how appealing were these mince pies?
43:46It had to be, hopefully, one of the most delicious mince pies that you've had.
43:51You'd certainly want, if you were paying for it, you'd certainly want it to be.
43:53Christmas foods at these top prices might be the preserve of the super wealthy...
44:04...unless you're going to sell it all for one festive blowout.
44:08I'm not sure I'm going to sell the house in order to buy these incredibly luxurious foods...
44:13...but I will, and I always do, go the extra mile and make sure that I am having nicer food at Christmas time...
44:21...to enjoy with my family and loved ones.
44:23Ultimately, isn't it about bringing family and friends together and having really good fun?
44:27It's really good fun.
44:28It's really good fun.
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