How much would you pay for this meal?

[Movinghouseatlast]

I run a holiday cottage business and I offer a bit meal awaiting their arrival for them to serve themselves. I don't do it to make a profit, more as a USP to get bookings as I think people might appreciate it after a long drive. However, I spend a bit of time cooking and shopping (and stressing!) so want some profit for that.

It is beef in red wine stew or lamb shanks in red wine or pie (steak, chicken or vegan mushroom) with mash and minted pea puree. Followed by chocolate brownie with salted caramel sauce and clotted cream. It is all homemade, local organic/ free range meat etc.

How much would you pay?

I'm registered with the council to cook food and have all the certificates.

Thanks!

I would LOVE this. Nice little touch.

I'd also prefer to just pay for a ready made meal from cook/M&S day some big tray bake you can bung in oven when you arrive.
I'd not want the faff of having to arrive at set time for meals or worry how to heat up 2 courses and if i have to do it myself I may as well bring exactly what I want and the wine I want.

Oh that's sounds so wonderful! I'd appreciate it so much! Are portions good sized? If so 30£ for a couple easily. I'd offer some wine on top? Although that would require a license, right?

The cottage let is for couples only did you say OP? I think the idea is lovely and I would welcome it...What could be better arriving to a lovely meal and a good bottle of wine> Saves all the faff on the first night,I would gladly pay around 60,00 for that with a bottle of wine. I would in fact over charge than under and make it a really exclusive dinner option.The guests .if adults only, if they are anything like me and my husband would gladly pay extra for a lovely dinner to make the most of our time away together,.Don;t go in cheap it lowers the tone as does reasonable pricing! Make it exclusive and I think your on to a winning idea.

I really love this idea. So long as it’s optional and the cost is clear at the point of booking, I can’t se any issues. I think you’ve got a good variety of options given that it’s a rustic home cooked meal. It seems really inviting, wholesome and special to me!
I’d pay £15/ £20 if it was served up to us, with a few candles on the table?
Hope it’s a success!

Cook meals are about £8.50 for 2 for a main and £2.50 per side. So i'd pay the equivalent. No more than £15 for 2 people for the main and maybe £5 for a pudding for 2. £20 all in.

No one who cooks an individual meal from scratch to order would bother trying to compete on price with mass produced frozen food, even if it is Cook. I am really surprised at that people think they are comparable. A huge amount of effort goes into cooking from scatch and even at £15 a couple, its probably hardly even minimum wage.

The menu wouldn't be any good for my coeliac husband
Well, we supply occasional meals to our holiday cottage and others and I am perfectly able to cook gluten free food. You might find it easier to match your requirements than turning up at a local pub. Especially in the country.

£15 a person, I meant, not couple!

I would not buy it, as I would not choose those meals and would go to the pub where there is more choice. Holiday cottages cost a lot, if you are using it to get bookings up, why not just increase the price of the rent.

its a lovely idea but i would not take you up on it, if i was going to be late arriving i would eat before i left and just bring snacks for first night really.

I would definitely prefer it to any sort of ready meal. Ready meals are horrible and all taste the same. Absolute last resort if e.g. the oven and cooker simultaneously went wrong! So definitely charge more than Cook or similar.

Veggie and vegan household here- we wouldn’t eat any of that. Bag of pasta and a jar of vegan pasta sauce though and we would be all over it for a £5 charge (would be £1.54 from Asda for you to purchase).

But if I’m honest on arrival I’d get a (vegan cheese) pizza takeaway for under £20 for the 3 of us. Much more of a treat and no stupid washing up.

I'd want veg rather than mash and peas. I do hope you'd offer more than that as an accompaniment

£15 per person sounds like very good value for a nice home-cooked meal like that - I think that's about what we paid for our home-cooked evening meal when we stayed at a quirky B&B in the middle of nowhere on the Shropshire/Wales border recently. There were pubs but you had to drive to them...I personally couldn't eat the mushroom pie but that's only because mushrooms and me don't agree; but I'd be happy with the meat option.

When we've stayed at B&Bs (everywhere from the West Country to Ireland, Wales and Scotland) we've usually been greeted with a nice bit of cake or a scone and a cup of tea on arrival as part of the overall price, but I would have been happy to pay a bit extra for something like a cream tea. (And of necessity we have to be really careful with our income, but we like the occasional treat.) And when you think how much places like Premier Inn and the like charge for breakfast, your deal sounds like very good value.

I think it sounds fab and £15/ head is fine for a couple.

I wouldnt bother. Seems like a load of effort. I would prefer to go snd find something myself especially as I don't like any of your choices

I think it sounds like a lovely touch, OP, and it sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into providing a tasty, good quality meal for your guests.

We wouldn’t opt for it if we were intending to arrive late, though, because I don’t like eating too close to going to bed as it makes me feel uncomfortable. We’re vegetarian and love mushrooms and pie but not late at night. We would have eaten a pub lunch on the way down so would definitely appreciate some cheese, crackers and olives on our arrival!

There’s some real curmudgeons on here.

@RuthW

It’s optional - you could decline without being so rude.

Sounds good to me. At £15 a head I would just click Yes. At £20 I would probably hesitate.

Love the idea of turning up somewhere warm and snug with dinner already cooked for me after a long day at work + drive.

As this thread has shown though, you just can't please some people!

As this thread has shown though, you just can't please some people!

It isn't about 'pleasing people' it's demonstrating that if you charge extra for a service then this will limit the number of people who will actively choose it. That may have a bearing on whether the OP decides to offer it at every booking.

All those people saying 'I'd go to the pub or get a takeaway' - what if you get there when the pubs have stopped serving and there's no takeaway within twenty miles?

We’d be up for it op
Sounds fab
All stuff we’d eat..well apart from the mushrooms but that’s not a problem
In fact you’ve got the juices going for beef stew or lamb shank and it’s still only breakfast .

This sounds lovely, and if I was booking a little cottage for a weekend for just the two of us, I think I'd definitely consider it. It would need other veggie options though but I'm impressed you'd offered a vegan option for the main. The mushroom chestnut option mentioned up thread sounds lovely.

The only other thing is that I'd probably wonder why a veggie meal would be same cost as something with local organic meat.

I think it's a nice idea, but I wouldn't book it. It's the same price as a local pub, and for all I know you could be a terrible cook! We would dump the bags and go out or order a takeaway. If it was ridiculously late and we were starving (unlikely as in those circs we would stop for food on the way) we would cook the breakfast and have that. Tbh I think you are giving yourself a lot of trouble and opening yourself up to a lot of criticism. I wouldn't do it.

£14.95 per adult and £10.00 for children. Sounds tasty !