'High rate' Tom Kerridge laments as energy bill at his pub increase by 600 per cent

Tom Kerridge has revealed that the energy bill at his pub has increased by 600 per cent, from £60,000 to £420,000.

Kerridge has warned that the “ludicrous” energy prices mean that the hospitality sector is facing a “terrifying landscape”.

Speaking to the BBC, Kerridge revealed that one of his pubs previously had a monthly electricity bill of £5,000, which will rise to £35,000 in December when its current contract ends.

“There’s no way that businesses are going to be able to absorb four, five, six hundred per cent price increases,” Kerridge told the Telegraph.

Some pub owners have already warned that they may be forced to close over the Christmas period as staying open would make them “lose money”.

Kerridge said “harsh realities” of this coming winter would mean a “huge amount of business closures or a huge amount of temporary business closures”.

The chef has called for “some form of energy price cap” for businesses, and Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, told The Telegraph that pubs and restaurants “urgently need a package of measures that will ensure the survival of hospitality businesses and thus guarantee jobs and wages for people who need to pay their own rising energy and food bills”.

In August, Kerridge had explained why his pub charged £87 for steak.

Responding to criticism of the price of steak, Kerridge said: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you want to ride in a Bentley, it costs money. If you’re on a budget there’s an intensely farmed Ford Focus available round the corner and that’s fine by me.”