Michelin-star chef Marcus Wareing offers a Christmas ‘happy meal’ for kids… at only £185 per head

It’s designed as a ‘happy meal’ treat for the children on Christmas Day – although at £185 plus tip, it’s a little different from chicken nuggets and chips.

Michelin-star chef and TV favourite Marcus Wareing is offering a special children’s menu along with the premium fare for adults on Christmas Day, at an eye-watering cost.

It is the final year that the chef, pictured, will be running his own restaurant – Marcus Belgravia – at the exclusive five-star Berkeley Hotel, in London’s Knightsbridge.

The meal will cost £450 per person for adults, which includes wine pairings, while it is £185 per child – taking the total for a family of four to £1,270.

However, the restaurant charges a discretionary service charge of 15 per cent, which means the price per child rises to £212.75.

This family of four will be paying £1,460.50 for the celebration, which may be hard to swallow at a time when many are making difficult choices between eating and heating. Wareing, 53, and his team are still finalising the dishes for this year’s children’s menu, but details of the food served last year give a taste of what’s in store.

Michelin-star chef and TV favourite Marcus Wareing is offering a special children’s menu along with the premium fare for adults on Christmas Day, at an eye-watering cost

The meal will cost £450 per person for adults, which includes wine pairings, while it is £185 per child – taking the total for a family of four to £1,270

The starter was a chicken wing with a sage and onion parfait.

It was followed by an artichoke risotto with winter truffle parmesan. The main dish was a Rhug estate turkey with all the traditional trimmings, plus a nutmeg cream and spiced red cabbage, while dessert was a chestnut, caramel and chocolate creation. And there is more – a mince pie and truffles to finish. This year’s menu for the adults includes tea-cured Lock Duart salmon, plus a second course of roast Orkney scallop and spiced lobster bisque. Guests can swap out the turkey in favour of Galloway beef fillet.

The grown-ups also have the choice of a selection of British and European cheeses and a chocolate Buche de Noel – or yule log – incorporating dried fruits and candied citrus. And if any diners with deep pockets can’t get a booking at Wareing’s restaurant, his Michelin-star peers are offering festive menus of their own.

Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus restaurant is charging a headline price of £290 per head for the food alone, with an option of spending an additional £875 per head on ‘indulgent’ wines.

Meanwhile Heston Blumenthal is charging £425 a head for the Christmas menu at his Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, which is recognised as one of the best in the world. The nine courses include roast scallops, plus King’s venison served with sprouts, black truffle and beetroot.

Explaining his decision to close his restaurant kitchen – which shuts after service on Boxing Day – Wareing said: ‘It wasn’t easy. This wonderful place has been my way of life for a very long time, but it feels like the right time to say goodbye and look ahead to future opportunities. I remain focused on nurturing the next generation of talent in this fabulous industry and remain committed to my TV career and brand partners.’