Why I don’t spend more than £15 on dinner
This is a theory that I came up with a couple of years ago, and now a philosphy that I live by. I don’t go to places for dinner where I will end up spending more than £15 on food. Truth be told, this is actually £17 with the cost of living crisis that has happened in the intervening time. Some people don’t understand it, so I’m writing this so that now there will hopefully be no confusion.
The main thing that people think when they hear this theory/philosophy is that I don’t like food. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love food. However, here’s the catch. I love all food. Whenever I eat, I love paying attention to the variety of tastes in my mouth and the pleasure that it is giving me. However, this is (more or less) true regardless of what I eat, especially when I am eating food prepared in a professional kitchen. So I don’t see a big difference in a meal that costs £15/£17 and a meal that costs multiples of that in terms of the satisfaction that it is giving me.
When I ask people why they would pay a lot of money for a meal, the second most common reason after the quality of the food is the experience. However, I assign very little value to this. I want to eat my food in a relaxed, laidback setting usually in the company of friends — if anything expensive restaurants are more likely to not provide that due to factors such as the waiters and waitresses constantly attending to and from your table and being expected to act and behave in a certain way rather than just being yourself.
A lot of people’s best memories are associated with food. A meal out to a nice restaurant to celebrate occasions such as a new job or a friend’s engagement are well remembered by a lot of people. I am no different. I can vividly recall the takeaway curry I had with my parents on the evening of my graduation, the home cooked meal on our holiday balcony overlooking the bay of Kotor or even the fish and chips I had during the October heatwave.
Whilst I’ve outlined the main reasons already, I will just highlight a few more. Food pays a lot larger part than just giving us enjoyment — it is of course vital for our health, and also relieves pain when we are hungry. I take these two things very seriously — health is wealth after all, and as anyone that knows me will be able to tell you I have a very large appetite. Combining these two points with the fact that I live a lifestyle where I am out of the house a lot in London and like to be sociable, I therefore eat out frequently and so budgeting my dinner as I have described allows me to live this way.
Finally, I think my general societal views do play a part in this. In particular, I dislike things that are exclusive and only certain members of society can have these — expensive restaurants are a prime example of this. Especially with something such as food, which is vital for all humans to live. Tasting is a great sense and everyone should be able to sample and experience the full range of flavours.
