Most Expensive Food Experiences in the World
This is no ordinary steak dinner.Groceries can be expensive. Still, every so often we splurge on filet mignon or lobster tail.
Then there are those who take things to another level. People who seek truffles that only dogs and pigs can find, or saffron that's worth more than gold. Whoever indulges in over-the-top foods, beverages and dining adventures has curious taste buds and money to spare.
Want to satisfy your hunger and eat like the upper crust? These are the most expensive food experiences in the world.
12. Elida Geisha Coffees
The brewed coffee will sell for $75 per eight-ounce cup to certain ticket holders.Cost: $75 per cup
Bottom Line: Elida Geisha Coffees
This isn't Starbucks.Klatch Coffee’s roastery in Rancho Cucamonga, California, bought 10 pounds of Elida Geisha 803 ($803) and five pounds of Elida Geisha 661 ($661) of the world’s most costly coffee beans at a recent auction.
The brewed coffee will sell for $75 per eight-ounce cup to certain ticket holders chosen by Klatch, or you can purchase 15-gram packages online for $125.
This is no regular cup of Joe. It’s more fruit-forward with notes of jasmine, bergamot, sweet berries, citrusy orange, and mango, depending on the blend.
Take that Starbucks.
11. Hurawalhi’s 5.8 Undersea Restaurant
Reef sharks, parrot fish, and mantis shrimp are among the creatures swimming around you and watching you eat at this popular dining spot in the Maldives.Cost: $280 per person for a seven-course dinner
Bottom Line: Hurawalhi’s 5.8 Undersea Restaurant
Eat with the fish.Ever wondered how zoo animals feel? You’ll sympathize with them while reef sharks, an occasional octopus, parrot fish, and mantis shrimp swim around you watching you eat at this popular dining spot in the Maldives.
Not only is this restaurant 19 feet (5.8 meters) below the water’s surface, but it’s made almost entirely of glass. German chef Bjoern van den Oever prepares unique meats and seafood for your dining pleasure, and sends these delicacies down to you via an elevator.
10. Dinner in the Sky
This Brussels, Belgium-based franchise travels all over the world so watch for it in your town.Cost: $289-$500 per person
Bottom Line: Dinner in the Sky
Good times.Be sure to use the restroom before you’re hoisted 180 feet into the air for this high-wire dining experience. If you need to excuse yourself from Dinner in the Sky mid-meal, you and the 26 others with you all must be lowered to the ground. Everyone will know about your small bladder or other digestive issue.
Twenty-two diners and five staff, including the chef who prepares meals on the platform, all contribute to the experience. This Brussels, Belgium-based franchise travels all over the world so watch for it in your town.
Should you drop your fork, don’t try to pick it up. That’s a long way down.
9. Donkey Cheese
Donkey cheese is not cheap.Cost: $576 a pound
Bottom Line: Donkey Cheese
Donkey cheese is high in protein, calcium, and omega 3 fatty acids.This donkey cheese, or pule, comes from Serbia.
Farmer Slobodan Simic, who claims he’s the only person in the world who has the recipe for donkey cheese, has just 20 of these animals that produce milk.
Even though pule is a direct hit to the pocketbook, eaters get exceptional health benefits. Donkey cheese is high in protein, calcium, and omega 3 fatty acids.
8. Sushi with Diamonds and Gold
Filipino chef Angelito Araneta Jr., aka the "Karat Chef," created this dish.Cost: $1,978
Bottom Line: Sushi with Diamonds and Gold
This is what the world's most expensive sushi looks like.For all of you who thought sushi meant raw fish wrapped in seaweed, these five-piece nigiri rolls shoot that definition to smithereens.
According to Guinness World Records, the world’s most expensive sushi consists of premium Norwegian pink salmon and foie gras cloaked in 24-karat gold leaf topped with three Palawan pearls and 20 carats of African diamonds.
You’ll need to travel to the Philippines and search Manila for the creator of this dish, Angelito Araneta Jr. If you find him and his creation, please remove the gems before eating.
7. Billion Dollar Popcorn
Organic sugar, butter from Vermont, Nielsen-Massey bourbon vanilla, and salt covered in 23-karat edible gold flake coat this very expensive popcorn.Cost: $2,500 for a 6.5-gallon tin
Bottom Line: Billion Dollar Popcorn
Do you eat it or put it in the bank?Berco’s Billion Dollar Popcorn is advertised on their website for $5 – per kernel.
For depleting your bank account, you get a concoction of organic sugar, butter from Vermont, Nielsen-Massey bourbon vanilla, and very expensive salt covered in 23-karat edible gold flake.
No word on where the popcorn kernels come from, which is only the key ingredient.
6. Pizza Louis XIII
Chef Renato Viola comes to your home and prepares this pizza, but only if you live in or are vacationing in Salerno, Italy.Cost: $12,000 (serves two)
Bottom Line: Pizza Louis XIII
This pie has lobster, caviar, prawns and seven kinds of cheese.No need to dress up and drive to a restaurant to enjoy this Italian delicacy because Renato Viola comes to your home and prepares this pizza. But only if you live in or are vacationing in Salerno, Italy.
He tops the pie with lobster, caviar, prawns, and seven kinds of cheese, and provides some extravagant beverages to wash it down. Those are champagne, followed by brandy and finished with Louis XIII cognac.
Now aren’t you glad you don’t need a designated driver?
5. Disneyland’s 21 Royal
In true Disney fashion, as each of the seven-courses and wine pairings comes into view, a story evolves.Cost: $15,000 for up to 12 guests
Bottom Line: Disneyland’s 21 Royal
This meal is magical.In Anaheim, California’s Magic Kingdom, enjoy a seven-course dinner at 21 Royal served on gold-plated dishes atop white linens.
Walt and Lillian Disney once envisioned the building that holds this private dining room as their secluded family haven but died before that happened. Now completed, anyone can rent it.
In true Disney fashion, as each of the seven-courses and wine pairings comes into view, a story evolves. Chef Andrew Sutton continually changes the menu. You may get buffalo tenderloin, spot prawns, Kobe pastrami, or some other delicacy.
It’s a small world after all for affluent epicureans. Mouse ears optional.
4. Epic Cristal Dinner
A portion of the proceeds from any Epic Cristal Dinner go to a homeless charity.Cost: $25,000 for 12
Bottom Line: Epic Cristal Dinner
Dinner or a car? You choose.The Bourbon & Bones Chophouse in Scottsdale, Arizona, generously offers a portion of the proceeds from any Epic Cristal Dinner ordered to an area homeless charity.
That should make you feel better about spending thousands for 12 32-ounce Tomahawk Ribeye steaks when you could buy a new car with those same dollars.
You do receive six courses and a limited-edition bottle of 2002 Vintage Cristal Jeroboam Champagne. With 12 people drinking from the same bottle, how many drops does one diner get?
3. 'The World’s Most Expensive Taco'
Say hello to the self-proclaimed world’s most expensive taco.Cost: $25,000
Bottom Line: 'The World’s Most Expensive Taco'
The expensive taco comes with a combination of langoustine, Kobe beef, Almas Beluga caviar, and black truffle brie cheese.This isn’t a typical Mexican combination-plate item that’s served with rice and beans.
Instead, if you dine at Grand Velas Los Cabos in Mexico, you can order the world’s most expensive taco. You’ll get a combination of langoustine, Kobe beef, Almas Beluga caviar, and black truffle brie cheese. The salsa includes dried Morita chili peppers, some really good tequila, and civet coffee.
In case you’ve forgotten, that’s coffee that comes from the poop of a cat-like animal called a civet.
2. Beverly Hills 9OH2O Luxury Collection, Diamond Edition Water
The water comes with a white gold cap encrusted with 250 black diamonds and 600 white diamonds.Cost: $100,000 per bottle
Bottom Line: Beverly Hills 9OH2O Luxury Collection, Diamond Edition Water
Luxury water. Don't spill a drop. Or lose the bottle and cap.Yes, it's that stuff you get for free out of the tap in your kitchen. Only this water comes from the Sierra Nevada Mountains enhanced with minerals, potassium, and calcium for flavor and health benefits.
But the piéce de résistance must be the white gold cap encrusted with 250 black diamonds and 600 white diamonds. Cap and bottle were designed by jeweler Mario Padilla. Only nine bottles were made.
Imagine having one of those to take to "Pawn Stars" to sell.
1. Strawberries Arnaud
It’s the 10.06-carat royal blue diamond ring nuzzled up next to this sweet treat that ramps up the cost.Cost: $9.85 million
Bottom Line: Strawberries Arnaud
They call this the proposal packageAsk for "Strawberries Arnaud" at Arnaud’s restaurant in New Orleans, and you’ll pay a pretty price for this dessert.
The edible portion – berries, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and 24-karat gold flake – seems relatively plain. It’s the 10.06-carat royal blue diamond ring nuzzled up next to the sweet treat that ramps up the value.
It’s a proposal package. Just hope she doesn’t say "no" when you pop the question.