Zuma's James Bond Burger and Fries

[Andy Lynes]

Rainer Becker has put Wagu beef burger and fries on the menu of his Zuma restaurant after a request from James Bond star Pierce Brosnan, who ordered one when dining with Becker in Japan. The dish will cost £55.00 according to The Evening Standard.

The move has enraged restaurateur Oliver Peyton who, in a press release today, asks, "Is this the return to 80’s excess and stupidity? A £55 burger’s not only an outrage but an insult to the nation as well. Jetting beef in from half-way around the world when we have bloody fantastic beef in our own backyard is absurd. We must be on the edge of the abyss. It drives me mad that so few of the restaurants in this country support our farmers and champion British Beef.”

Unsurprisingly, Peyton took the opportunity to plug the burger served at his Atlantic Bar and Grill which at £15.50, is less than a third of the cost of Zuma's and "is made with the finest Welsh Black Beef fillet. It is served in a freshly made toasted brioche bun with organic Isle of Wight tomatoes, hand-cut chips and battered onion rings."

Peyton's beef supplier, Nia Wyn-Jones added, “Welsh Black Beef is the closest to perfect beef that you can find. One of the factors that gives it its wonderful pure flavour is the narrow grain of the flesh. The marbling is unsurpassed and the real secret of great beef is the way that it’s been hung.”

[Mrs Woman]

Jetting beef in from half-way round the world? Olly's obviously never heard of this place in good old North Wales

http://www.wagyu.net/home.html

[Jon Tseng]

why would you use fillet for burgers

too dry, surely?

J

[jamiemaw]

Andy Lynes  Unsurprisingly, Peyton took the opportunity to plug the burger served at his Atlantic Bar and Grill which at £15.50, is less than a third of the cost of Zuma's and "is made with the finest Welsh Black Beef fillet.

why would you use fillet for burgers

too dry, surely?

J

←

Well, you wouldn't, now would you.

Although I suppose the fat content could be turboed in the grind to 20% or so, thus saving it from becoming as dry as, well, a Welshman, you might ask . . . why? Besides being the least flavoursome of the bovine muscles, when formed into hamburger patties chipped fillets are historically and unanimously unable to resist the urge to take on the texture of meatloaf, thus combining the mouthfeel of cellulite in a nunnery with the less attractive aspects of cellar damp.

Or could it be that Mr. Peyton merely feels isolated?

Edited April 15, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[Carlovski]

Actually I would have thought the marbling in Wagyu beef would mean there might be too much fat?

And more importantly, why?

Throwing expensive ingredients into a dish do not necessarily improve it.

[YKL]

Throwing expensive ingredients into a dish do not necessarily improve it.

←

but does it improve profit margins for the vendor through increased mark-up?

I agree though - if you've got marvellous meat (or any raw ingredient) - stop buggering about with it and just stick it on a plate.

Cheers

Yin

[origamicrane]

this is just "decadence dining"

its like putting caviar on a hot dog or gold leaf on your sushi

you eat it because you can afford it

not because you are hungry or if its worth the money or you will appreciate it more then any other burger.

If i was a rich film actor like Pierce Brosnan sure I have a £55 wagyu burger everyday, hell i import the beef myself.

Imagine what Elvis would have done if he knew of wagyu beef while he was alive?

Doubt the vendor would have a better profit margin

probably just the normal 200% mark up!!

Where the vendor really profits is the amount of free publicity!!

This story has had a page in virtually every newspaper and food mag.

[Basildog]

Where do you get 200% mark up from?

[origamicrane]

Where do you get 200% mark up from?

←

sorry sorry that was my chinese side speaking

for a chinese restaurant 200% is the average mark up.

but I believe that the average mark up in most western restaurants is 65-100%

correct?

[Basildog]

Westen restaaurants work roughly on 300-400% mark up which mean Food Costs of about 25-33% of Selling price.

Eg, buy a piece of fish for £5 sell it for £15 (33% Food Cost 66% Gross Profit)

Or sell it for £20 (20% Food Cost , 80%Gross profit)

Take off the VAT, wages staff costs ec etc and you may be left with 10% Net profit.

I wish the general public would understand the economics of Restaurants more, because when they see the figure 300% mark up, they think they are getting ripped off!

[origamicrane]

oh thats about the same then

my 200% mark up is purely on base ingredients for the dish

once you added on labour and the rest

its a very different story.

The general public knows nothing about the economics of a restaurant.

Think that why so many people that attempt to open restaurants fold within a year! they haven't done their maths first!!

[Jon Tseng]

55 quid for a 200g burger points to £275/kg or £92/kg assuming a typical 3x mark-up.

Looks high-end but not outlandish vs. the retail price of wagyu (can someone remind how much selfridges charge? I think its about that).

Would note however a) Zuma obviously paying significantly below retail rates and b) this assumes they are using prime cuts - presumably chuck etc. cheaper.

l8tr

J

[Matthew Grant]

I bought some from Selfridges last year: Australian Wagyu was £75/kg for sirloin, £85/kg for rib-eye adn the cheapest cut was fillet at £70/kg. At the time I noted "It was interesting but my preference would be for a well hung piece of rare breed beef"

[alexw]

With the quality of beef being reared on our own shores, this foreign stuff is immoral at that price, fine when you are in it's locality enjoy it to the full, but to get such a (allegedly) fine beef, (never eaten it myself yet). a) why mince the damn thing, and b) why bow down to the whim of one of your guests.

my answers would be to (opinion only of course)

a) if he were to use prime cuts then his cost margin would suffer as a consequence. most restaurants nowadays run to a 25-27% food cost and woe-betide anyone in his kitchen who accidentaly cut a 210gram steak instead of a 200gram one, this would crap out his profit probably for the rest of the day, (maybe he would only ever cut it himself.) He is making a burger as the cuts used can be tailored to be economical, also no-one in their right mind would use fillet for a burger as you would have to mince back fat or some other inferior fat into it just to make it palletable.

b)the answer here is simple - free publicity

I personally think it is immoral to spend that amount of money on a burger, however these people are our guests and they provide our market, and as they say. "You pays your money and takes your choice".

enough rant for today, and Rainer if people are paying £55 for your burger send a couple my way so I can boost my revenue.

Alex.