Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate all that we do have. The annual holiday is also a day for indulging our taste buds. Thanksgiving is inseparable from those lavish dinners centered around that grand turkey. According to The American Farm Bureau Federation, the average Thanksgiving dinner costs about $4.35 per person for a table of ten. This unexpectedly low per head price accounts for all the frills of the average Thanksgiving meal – turkey, stuffing, the sides and so on. Of course, costs will rise if you use organic ingredients or splurge on things like truffles. So how do you organize the most expensive dinner for Thanksgiving? Let us discuss the ways.
Cooking Up A Storm
In 2010, the average 16-pound turkey cost about $17.66. But when you are in splurge mode, prices will be considerably higher. The 19-pound Grand Turducken – an annual offering from 4505 Meats – is a mix of the best bits of chicken, duck and turkey. Priced at $295 this bird needs to cook for eight hours. It may seem expensive in both money and time, but once it is done, you will have 30 happy people at the dinner table. Well worth the cost. You could also try the $125 Turducken Junior, which can feed 12 guests.
Vegan guests could try the turkey-shaped $93.99 dish from Healthy Eating. For a more adventurous dinner, try the turkey with alligator dressing stuffing from Hebert’s Specialty Meats. The price is relatively cheaper, at $49.95.
Generally, the preferred sides for a Thanksgiving dinner are sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and the like. But how do you give them an expensive twist? Chef Spencer Burge at UK restaurant Fence Gate had the right idea – though he later described it as “a bit of silliness” that “quickly got out of control”. Chef Burge’s Thanksgiving extravaganza was a $13,000 pie, complete with a gold leaf on the top.
The five-figure price tag is easily explained by the ingredients that went into this Thanksgiving side – 5.5 pounds Wagyu beef, about $890; 2 bottles of 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, about $6,400; and 3.5 ounces of winter black truffle, about $135. The gold leaf alone cost $500.
Of course, your dishes would lose their luxury touch without the right knives. So while you are splurging shamelessly on everything else, why not pick up a Cotellerie Berti’s Insieme set? You will get a boning knife, a carving knife and a carving fork for as little as $1,400.
Setting The Table
Your most expensive Thanksgiving dinner will lose its point if served on any old dishes. Bring out the silverware. If possible, go shopping for some high-end tableware. Add style to your 12-seater dinner table with a 66-piece Continental dinner set from Tuttle Silver. The price is a mere $25,199.95. Also bring in the salt and pepper shakers by Robbe & Berking. These sterling silver beauties will set you back by only $2,505 apiece.
For an even more luxurious touch, whip out the Scheherazade dinnerware by Haviland & Parlon. The gold-themed dining set was used at the wedding of the King of Morocco’s daughter. Priced at $5,509 per five-piece set, this dinnerware will bring a royal touch to the festivities.
Raising A Toast
A dinner on this scale is best served by bottles of 2008 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits. Currently priced at about $10,777 per bottle, this French wine from Burgundy is perfect for raising that special Thanksgiving toast.
Later, guests can be treated to cups of Kopi Luwak coffee. These coffee beans are created from the droppings of a small mammal named the Asian palm civet. The prices are less disgusting, but equally dumbfounding. London cafes generally charge about $100 per cup. For a better bargain, buy 2 pounds for $800.
Dining Out On Thanksgiving
The prize for the best Thanksgiving dinner arguably goes to Café Gray – a New York restaurant (now closed) run by Chef Gray Kunz. The dinner featured lobster and crabmeat gratin and a “Million Dollar Pie” among other things. For the price of $833 per seat at the chef’s table, diners also enjoyed a view of the Thanksgiving Day parade at Macy’s, plus an open bar and a turkey-carving demo by Chef Gray.
Currently, most Thanksgiving dinners at high-end restaurants cost between $50 and $90 per head. But since we are looking at the top-end of things, Eleven Madison Park deserves a mention. At $185 per person, the restaurant will be serving up a four-course meal throughout Thanksgiving afternoon. In the past, Thanksgiving diners at Eleven Madison have been treated to high-end treats like foie gras and alba truffles.
Via: Fox Business
