Food to overtake energy bills in driving up UK cost of living crisis
Until now, the cost of living crisis has been most closely associated with energy bills - but soon food costs will overtake energy as the main inflation driver.
Food costs are set to overtake energy bills in driving up UK inflation this summer, a new report has warned.
The report by the Resolution Foundation has found that the cost of living crisis – until now dominated by sky-high energy bills – will soon be driven by rocketing food prices, once again hitting poorer UK households the hardest.
According to the report, whilst energy prices have risen faster in the UK it is still food that makes up the largest share of a typical household’s outgoings.
As a result, as food prices continue to rise whilst energy bills fall back this summer it is predicted that the cost of eating will become the biggest threat to people’s finances.
Food prices have increased by 25 per cent over the past year and a half, greatly impacting the squeeze on living standards in low and middle-income households.
And now, grocery bills are expected to increase again over the summer.
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According to the thinktank behind the report, it was not clear that politicians were currently prepared for another year of food price rises or that “policy debates have caught up with the scale of what is going on”.
Food price inflation reached around 19 per cent in March, the highest in almost half a century. As a result, the report asserts that food prices will be ‘contributing far more than energy to CPI inflation through the remainder of 2023.’
The report said: “By this summer, food costs will have overtaken energy bills in the scale of the shock they are administering to family finances.”
The Resolution added that it can also model the scale of the impact across individual households, suggesting that this summer 16 million households (56 per cent) will face a big shock when it comes to paying for their food.
The Bank of England governer Andrew Bailey told business leaders earlier this month that he was ‘concerned’ that food and other non-energy prices would remain elevated.
Typically, food prices in the UK fall in the summer as locally-grown crops replace those imported from abroad.
However, factory gate prices for milk, meat and other foods have accelerated, in some cases by more than 50% year on year.
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The Resolution Foundation’s report, Food for Thought, says food prices are expected to contribute “more to overall inflation than energy” in the months ahead.
“Between March and September 2023, food prices are expected to contribute around 2 percentage points to inflation each month, while the contribution of energy prices is set to fall from 3 percentage points to less than 1,” the report estimates.
The cost to the nation from higher food prices since the 2019-20 financial year would be £28bn by the end of the summer, compared with an extra £25bn cost from higher energy prices, it added.
Lalitha Try, one of the report’s authors, said: “Everyone realises food prices are rising but it’s less clear that the scale of the increases has been understood in Westminster.”
“What rising food prices have in common with surging energy bills is that they pose a greater challenge to lower-income households, who spend a higher proportion of their income on food – 15%, compared with 10% for the highest-income households in 2019-20.
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“As a result, the effective inflation rate for the poorest 10th of households was almost 50% higher compared with the richest 10th of households in March.”
Featured image – RawPixel
Eats
One of Manchester’s best restaurants is opening a ‘bread kitchen’ in Exhibition food hall
Daisy Jackson
A Michelin guide restaurant in Manchester is branching out with a new project, and this time it’s all about bread.
The team behind Another Hand will be taking over one of the kitchens in food hall Exhibition, launching Jaan, which will specialise in Persian cooking.
The new bread kitchen will focus on Wildfarmed House Flatbreads, which will come with an array of seasonal toppings.
And a lot of the produce heading to the Jaan kitchen at Exhibition will be taken from what’s not used at Another Hand around the corner.
For example, a whole sirloin that’s used for Another Hand’s ex-dairy sirloin dish will provide meat trimmings that will be turned into Jaan’s beef tartare.
The tail and trim from Another Hand’s seared trout will head to Jaan to be used in a fire-roasted sea trout fatoush salad.
And the two restaurants will share other bits of produce too, like a squash that will go into both a Winter Squash small plate at the main restaurant and a scorched summer squash dish at the food hall.
Another Hand’s famous flatbreads will be the staple on the menu at Jaan, which is moving into the beautiful kitchen on Peter Street hot on the heels of the departure of Rigatoni’s.
Since it launched in 2022, the restaurant’s become known as one of Manchester’s best, even earning a place in the Michelin guide.
It’s famed for its sharing plates, as well as the team’s efforts to drive sustainable practices, sourcing produce from across the north west.
Most ingredients used in the restaurant have travelled no more than 40 miles, and the bread comes from Holy Grain while the chocolate comes from Dormouse, both right next door.
Jaan will be moving in to the Exhibition food hall in Manchester
They hope that Jaan will help their sustainable credentials even more, allowing them to use up almost every scrap of produce.
Small plates will all be served with house flatbreads, and toppings will include smoked aubergine, whipper butterbean, black garlic cheese bread, ex-dairy beef tartare, and ras el hanout spiced lamb.
And larger plates will include slow-cooked lamb shank with ancient grains, grilled octopus and nduja, and chermoula chicken rice.
Chef patrons Max Yorke and Julian Pizer said: “We feel extremely privileged to be offered the opportunity to cook alongside Osma and Baratxuri at Exhibition Manchester.
“Over the last few years our small 24 cover restaurant has generated a large waitlist and we are excited to showcase our new concept to a wider audience.
“Most importantly, as we make more steps to improve our environmental standards, our food waste systems showed an obvious area in which we could develop.
“By opening a second kitchen in such a fast paced venue we can take unused produce from Another Hand and even further reduce, and hopefully eradicate, our wastage.”
Jaan Persian Bread Kitchen will open within Exhibition on 8 May, joining Osma and Baratxuri on the venue’s restaurant floor.
Gary Neville lines up Michelin star chef for his Stock Exchange Hotel restaurant
Daisy Jackson
Gary Neville has announced a new restaurant within his five-star Stock Exchange Hotel, which will open almost a year after the previous eatery announced its shock closure.
The magnificent dining room at the heart of the hotel was previously home to Tom Kerridge’s The Bull & Bear, which closed at the end of 2022.
It was then replaced by Stock Market Grill, a restaurant by the award-winning Schofield brothers (who operate officially the best bar in the UK) – but that was open for only a matter of months.
Thankfully, the Manchester United legend and property mogul now has grand plans for the Stock Exchange’s restaurant offering, roping in two-time Michelin star chef Niall Keating.
Niall will be launching Tender this summer, a luxury dining experience ‘named after the tender care put into crafting each dish’.
There’ll be gourmet food for everyday dining within the hotel’s historic dining room, which will undergo a renovation before Tender’s launch.
Its menu will offer weekday brasserie lunches, a la carte dinners, afternoon teas, Sunday roasts, a chef’s table and a special tasting menu.
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
Niall Keating at just 33 years old has already earned two Michelin stars, making him one of the youngest two-time Michelin star chefs in the UK.
His CV has included stints in kitchens at the best restaurants in the world, including Restaurant Sat Bains and Benu in San Francisco (a three Michelin-star spot).
He then headed to The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Hotel, where he earned his first star in 2017 and a second in 2019, as well as a prestigious Green Star in 2021 which recognises sustainability practices.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Gary Neville, owner of Stock Exchange Hotel, said: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Niall Keating for Tender and bringing his culinary expertise to the hotel.
“His vision to create versatile and accessible dining options is exactly what we’ve been looking for, to allow everyone visiting Tender to find the right experience for them.”
Niall Keating added: “From when I first walked through the doors of the hotel into the dining room, I knew this was the place for me and that we could create something really special.
“I immediately felt connected to both Gary and General Manager, Tracy Harrison, and I knew what I wanted to create at the hotel and restaurant. I want a space that feels vibrant, warm and energetic, that brings to life the history of the stock exchange roots of the hotel, while providing an upscale and comfortable brasserie dining experience.
“In addition to the main dining room, we will also be opening ‘The Bank’, which is a beautiful private space for up to 12 guests, where we will be providing a truly exceptional dining experience.”
Gary added: “We will also shortly be announcing a series of events and live music experiences, including a weekly music plan, within Tender, that will really bring the venue to life, making it the heart of Stock Exchange Hotel.”
Tender restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel will officially open on 5 June.
Its opening hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, midday to 10pm, and Sundays midday to 7.30pm.