The World’s Most Expensive Christmas Dinner: $200,000, And It Only Serves Four

Christmas dinner generally boasts a variety of mashed starches and lots of carbohydrates, artfully present around a roasted turkey. While the particulars of each family’s feast may vary — wine or sparkling cider? turkey or ham? mashed potatoes or that sweet potato puree with marshmallows on top? — it stays pretty much the same from home to home.

Unless you are the lucky eaters of the world’s most expensive Christmas dinner, sponsored by chef Ben Spalding.

This year, Ben Spalding will visit one lucky patron’s home and prepare them a Christmas feast like they’ve never had before, for four people of their choosing. All for the tune of $200,000.

On the menu: dry ice, cavier, truffles, Wagyu beef heart, gold leaf, and a $60,000 bottle of champagne, served in diamond-studded champagne flutes. Obviously.

The meal will begin with a $3,200 bottle of Diva vodka, and a bottle of 1907 Piper Heidsieck champagne, valued at nearly $60,000. Each course if also paired with a different fine wine. The first course is a bird’s nest full of Alma’s caviar with 150-year-old balsamic vineger and Pata Negra Iberica jambon. Whatever that is. The second course is a while white Alba truffle served with a $4,000 melon from China.

The classes Christmas turkey gets an upgrade in this over-the-top meal. The dinner’s centerpiece is a rare breed of turkey served with Wagyu beef heart and Perigord truffles. Topped with $8,000 worth of pistachios.

All of that is wrapped in a gold leaf, costing $9,600.

For dessert? A $3,500 Japanese watermelon served on a gold Ugandan vanilla plate, topped off by a nice cup of coffee. Coffee made from the beans of coffee berries “excreted by the Asian Palm Civet cat.” You can’t make this stuff up.

Ben Spalding set out to create the meal as a charity event. The proceeds from the meal will be given to a charity of his choice. Spalding, the current head chef at John Salt, has completed residencies at some of the top restaurants in the world, and is known for his “alternative approach to fine dining.”

The meal is available for purchase through Very First To, founded by Marcel Knobil.

“This menu is certainly for expensive taste-buds but it will be an unrivalled gastronomic delight,” cites Knobil.

“It fits perfectly into our remit of enabling individuals to be the first to know about, and have, newly launching luxury products and experiences.”

Jennifer Lawinski believes the whole meal is “the kind of extravagance that borders on the bizarre.” The writer comments:

“Who wants to eat beef hearts or pieces of gold? It’s like they’re making it excessive and fancy just for the sake of being excessive and fancy. For bragging rights. ‘I had the world’s most expensive dinner!’ Which just makes it tacky.”

What do you think about the world’s most expensive Christmas dinner?