What’s the most expensive meal you’ve ever eaten? Personally, I have trouble going out to dinner and spending more than $20 on my own food and drinks, and I often feel anxious about forking over as little as $10 for a meal.

If you’re like me and consider a night out at PF Chang’s the crème de la crème of fine dining, you’re going to be shocked by the sticker prices on these meals. You’re taste buds may say “yes”, but your wallet will surely be screaming “no” as we explore the following ten outrageously expensive aspects of the industry of fine dining.

How to taste and appreciate gourmet foods?

Tasting and appreciating gourmet foods is an art that can elevate your dining experience. Here are some tips to help you fully enjoy the nuances of luxurious dishes:

• Engage Your Senses: Start by observing the dish. Take note of its colors, presentation, and texture. The visual appeal sets the stage for the experience. Smell the food before tasting; aromas can hint at the coming flavors.
• Take Small Bites: When tasting gourmet foods, take small bites to allow your palate to absorb the flavors. This approach also helps you identify different ingredients and their contributions to the overall taste.
• Savor Each Flavor: Focus on the individual flavors in each bite. Consider how sweet, salty, bitter, and umami elements interact. Gourmet dishes often have complex flavor profiles, so take your time to identify each component.
• Pair with the Right Beverage: Enhance your tasting experience by pairing your food with complimentary beverages. Whether it’s a fine wine, artisanal beer, or a crafted cocktail, the right pairing can amplify the flavors of your dish.
• Consider the Texture: Pay attention to the texture of the food. Is it creamy, crunchy, or chewy? The mouthfeel contributes significantly to the overall enjoyment of gourmet foods.
• Learn the Story: Understanding the dish’s origin and the chef’s inspiration can deepen your appreciation. Research the ingredients and preparation methods to connect more personally with your taste.
• Be Open to New Experiences: Gourmet dining often involves trying unfamiliar ingredients or flavor combinations. Approach each tasting with an open mind and be willing to embrace new culinary experiences.
• Share the Experience: Tasting gourmet foods can be more enjoyable when shared with others. Discussing flavors and impressions with fellow diners can enhance your understanding and enjoyment.

By following these tips, you can fully immerse yourself in gourmet foods, appreciating the craftsmanship and creativity behind each dish. Enjoying high-end cuisine is not just about eating; it’s about experiencing the artistry of food.

1. Kopi Luwak

There’s no better way to start your day than with a fresh cup of coffee, and there’s no better way to empty your wallet than by drinking Kopi Luwak – the world’s most expensive coffee beans from Indonesia. Kopi Luwak is an especially special coffee because of how it is processed. The beans are eaten by an Asian Palm Civet and then excreted by the animal. The digestive process of the civet supposedly makes these beans the best in the world.

So how much will these creatively processed beans cost you? Around $700 per kilo – a price tag sure to start any morning with a jump!

2. The world’s most expensive milk

And of course, who can have outrageously expensive coffee without outrageously expensive milk? The most expensive milk on the market comes fresh from Japan’s Nakazawa Foods for a whopping $43 a quart – more than 30 times the average cost of milk.

Why so expensive? Supposedly this milk has special stress-relieving qualities. The secret behind its qualities is that the milk is taken from cows only once a week at dawn when the animals release higher levels of hormone melatonin; qualities that you definitely need in milk that you are paying so much money for!

3. Fancy cheese for a pretty penny

Nakazawa Food’s cows are not the only animals producing highly sought-after milk. The world’s most expensive cheese comes from Serbia and is made with donkey milk. The cheese is called Pule and the reason it is so expensive is because of how difficult it is to make. The donkeys responsible for the cheese must be milked by hand three times a day, producing 1 liter each time. It takes 25 liters to create one liter of Pule, making it an extremely tedious product to create! The cheese has been known to sell for over $600 per pound.

4. World’s most expensive (and bizarre) fruit

Enough talk about dairy products, because if you’re not already lactose intolerant those outrageous prices will surely make you sick to your stomach regardless. It seems though that the world of impressively priced non-dairy products can get equally outrageous, as can the process of production!

The world’s most expensive fruit is a pineapple coming from none other than Cornwall, England. Seem like a strange place to grow a tropical fruit? That’s because it is! The process of growing the world’s most expensive pineapple is extremely complicated. So what’s the pricy secret to these pineapples? They are reportedly developed under 30 tons of manure and are soaked in horse urine. It sounds gross, but they are apparently so delicious that they can sell for around $15,000.

5. Strawberry dessert with a pricy surprise

Arnaud’s in New Orleans offers a strawberry dessert on their menu that sells for an outrageous $3.95 million. While the strawberries themselves are surely tasty enough, the main cost of the dessert has to do with the fact that it is actually part of an engagement package offered by the restaurant. This after dinner treat comes with a side of 7.09 carat pink diamond ring.

So if you’re looking to kill two birds with one stone and get a classy and delicious meal plus an expensive engagement out of the way, this might just be the $3.95 million dessert for you!

6. World’s most expensive restaurant

Speaking of expensive and life-changing meals, the world’s most expensive restaurant will surely open your palate to an incomparable dining experience. The establishment is a Japanese restaurant called Masa and opened in 2004 in New York City.

So how much will a dining experience at the world’s most expensive restaurant cost you? The average price for dining at Masa is around $450. That being said, you could easily spend much more than a measly $450 in one sitting. For example, the most expensive wine on the menu, 1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, costs $3000 alone.

7. Japanese food will cost you a lot of money

Some of the most consistently expensive food in the world comes from Japan, which is really no surprise considering the extremely high cost of living in the country. We already saw that Japanese cows produce the world’s most expensive milk, but they produce the world’s most expensive beef as well!

Some of the most prized cows in the world, Wagyu cattle, are bred outside of Tokyo, Japan. A full Wagyu rib eye for a private party at the New York City restaurant Craftsteak, for example, can cost $2800. The meat will probably cost you a little bit less if you’re looking to buy Wagyu steak in Japan rather than abroad, but it’s still not going to be anywhere near affordable!

8. A burger that costs a bundle

Interestingly, Wagyu beef is not an ingredient in the world’s most expensive hamburger. The New York City-based food truck 666 features the “Douche Burger” that costs $666, making it the most expensive in the world. But if it’s not made with the famous Wagyu beef, what is the expensive ingredient? Kobe beef, which also comes from Japan!

In addition to Kobe beef, this burger is smothered in caviar, lobster, truffles, Gruyere cheese, and a champagne steamed barbecue sauce that also includes none other than our favorite Kopi Luwak coffee!

9. A bizarrely expensive burger

You don’t have to buy the world’s most expensive burger to spend way too much on a burger though. You can just run down the road to your local Wendy’s (if you live in Japan at least). Japan’s Wendy’s menu features a Lobster Surf & Turf burger for a whopping $16, far more than the average fast food patty!

10. Washing down an outrageously expensive meal

So how do you wash down some of the world’s most expensive meals? With the world’s most expensive wine of course!

They say that good wine is aged, but the world’s most expensive wine isn’t actually that old (though probably still older than anything you can safely afford). It is a 1907 Heidsieck.

Though the Heidsieck is certainly not the oldest wine in the world, it has an amazing story. The wine was shipwrecked off of the coast of Finland and was not discovered again until 1997. There were 200 bottles that were able to be recovered. A bottle of this extremely rare and adventurous wine costs $275,000!

Whether you’re looking to spend entire paychecks on a morning cup of coffee of forgo buying a house for a bottle of wine, you will surely be able to find an extremely expensive meal to blow your fortune on!

Key Insights

• Kopi Luwak Coffee: Known as the world’s most expensive coffee, Kopi Luwak is made from beans that have been digested and excreted by Asian Palm Civets. This unique process results in a price of around $700 per kilo.
• Expensive Milk: Japan’s Nakazawa Foods sells milk at $43 a quart, claiming its stress-relieving qualities come from cows milked once a week at dawn.
• Pule Cheese: The world’s most expensive cheese, Pule, made from donkey milk in Serbia, costs over $600 per pound due to the intensive milking process and low yield.
• Luxury Pineapples: Grown in Cornwall, England, these pineapples cost about $15,000 each due to their labor-intensive cultivation process involving manure and horse urine.
• Million-Dollar Strawberry Dessert: Arnaud’s in New Orleans offers a $3.95 million dessert, which includes a 7.09 carat pink diamond ring, as part of an engagement package.
• Masa Restaurant: The world’s most expensive restaurant, Masa in New York City, offers meals averaging $450, with a single bottle of wine costing up to $3000.
• Wagyu Beef: Renowned for its quality, Wagyu beef from Japan can cost thousands, with a rib eye at New York’s Craftsteak priced at $2800.
• Douche Burger: The world’s most expensive hamburger, priced at $666, contains Kobe beef, caviar, lobster, truffles, Gruyere cheese, and a champagne-steamed barbecue sauce with Kopi Luwak coffee.
• Wendy’s Lobster Surf & Turf Burger: Available only in Japan, this burger costs $16, far exceeding typical fast-food prices.
• 1907 Heidsieck Wine: Discovered after a shipwreck off Finland’s coast, this wine costs $275,000 per bottle, making it the most expensive in the world.

FAQ

1. What makes Kopi Luwak coffee so expensive? Kopi Luwak coffee is expensive because the beans are processed through the digestive system of Asian Palm Civets, which supposedly enhances their flavor. This unique method of production drives the price up to around $700 per kilo.
2. Why is Nakazawa Foods milk so costly? Nakazawa Foods milk costs $43 per quart because it is collected from cows only once a week at dawn, when their melatonin levels are highest. This process is believed to give the milk special stress-relieving qualities.
3. What is special about Pule cheese? Pule cheese is made from donkey milk and is extremely labor-intensive to produce. Each donkey is milked by hand three times a day, and it takes 25 liters of milk to produce one liter of cheese. This results in a price of over $600 per pound.
4. How are the world’s most expensive pineapples grown? The most expensive pineapples are grown in Cornwall, England, using a labor-intensive method that involves covering the pineapples with 30 tons of manure and soaking them in horse urine. This process makes them extremely pricey, at around $15,000 each.
5. What comes with Arnaud’s $3.95 million strawberry dessert? Arnaud’s $3.95 million strawberry dessert includes a 7.09 carat pink diamond ring, as it is part of an engagement package offered by the restaurant.
6. Why is dining at Masa restaurant so expensive? Masa in New York City is the world’s most expensive restaurant, with meals averaging $450. The high cost is due to the exceptional quality of the food and the dining experience, with some items like a bottle of 1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild wine costing up to $3000.
7. How much does Wagyu beef cost? Wagyu beef can cost thousands of dollars. For instance, a Wagyu rib eye for a private party at New York’s Craftsteak can cost $2800. The beef is prized for its quality and is generally expensive both in Japan and abroad.
8. What is in the Douche Burger and why is it so expensive? The Douche Burger costs $666 and is made with Kobe beef, caviar, lobster, truffles, Gruyere cheese, and a champagne-steamed barbecue sauce that includes Kopi Luwak coffee. These luxurious ingredients contribute to its high price.
9. What makes Wendy’s Lobster Surf & Turf burger unique? Wendy’s Lobster Surf & Turf burger, available in Japan, costs $16. This high price is due to the use of lobster, which is a premium ingredient not typically found in fast-food burgers.
10. What is the story behind the 1907 Heidsieck wine? The 1907 Heidsieck wine is the most expensive in the world at $275,000 per bottle. It was shipwrecked off the coast of Finland and not discovered until 1997. Only 200 bottles were recovered, adding to its rarity and high cost.

What’s the most expensive meal you’ve ever eaten?

By Astrid Eira

Astrid Eira is a resident B2B expert of FinancesOnline, focusing on the SaaS niche. She specializes in accounting and human resource management software, writing honest and straightforward reviews of some of the most popular systems around. Being a small business owner herself, Astrid uses her expertise to help educate business owners and entrepreneurs on how new technology can help them run their operations. She's an avid fan of the outdoors, where you'll find her when she's not crunching numbers or testing out new software.