Stop believing expensive ingredients equal expensive cuisine.
Most guests don’t understand why a potato can cost more than a lobster.
Honestly? It’s our fault – we trained them to think like this.
For years, the industry told people:
“only if expensive ingredient = expensive menu.”
And now we’re living inside that trap!
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The old game: just add expensive ingredients, increase the price and smile.
It wasn’t always about taste – it was about justifying the price.
You know the formula:
Lobster? Luxury.
Caviar? Prestige.
Wagyu? High-end.
Simple equation.
Simple thinking.
Completely misleading.
We all did it, and still do..
Michelin, private dining, events – everyone.
Add more elements.
Add more visual drama.
Add more “look how complex this is.”
It looked like luxury.
It felt like value.
It sold.
But it also created the biggest misconception in our industry:
Guests now think “price” equals “product,” not “skill.”
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Luxury ingredients are easy.
Lobster → salt → grill → done. Thats easy.
Wagyu → salt → sear → done. Super easy.
Caviar → open → done. Thats even more easy.
But making a perfect ratatouille?
A perfect sauce?
A perfect vegetable dish?
That’s hours of work. That’s knowledge. That’s technique. That’s actual craftsmanship. Discipline.
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In Marbella, the contrast is painful:
10.000€ for a beach-club bed + V.Clicquot champagne to spray?
No hesitation.
200€ for a carefully crafted private dinner?
“Hmm… seems expensive. Too much.”
Where is the logic? – There is none.
Because logic isn’t part of this decision-making.
They question the price of work.
They question the price of knowledge.
They question the price of craft.
BUT they don’t question the price of luxury goods, cars, wine, watches – but food?
Well..
Food feels “familiar“ isn’t it?
Supermarkets made people believe they understand cost.
They know what potatoes cost.
They don’t understand labor cost.
They almost never understand skill cost.
This is the gap we keep fighting.
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The industry confession ( you know this is true! )
We’ve all created menus like this:
Budget €50 → “Ok… duck.”
Budget €120 → “Let’s add scallops.”
Budget €250 → “Throw in wagyu. & some caviar.”
Not because they belong there.
But because they “signal” value.
We need to kill that habit.
Because that logic is exactly why guests misunderstand value today.
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The next era of Gastronomy is about courage.
The courage to simplify.
The courage to serve fewer components.
The courage to stand behind technique.
The courage to price experience honestly.
The courage to say:
“Yes, this potato dish costs €35.
No, there is no lobster.
Yes, it’s worth it.”
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If this resonates, follow me Norbert Jacniak for more thoughts on the future of gastronomy, hospitality, and culinary culture.
