Former three-Michelin-starred chef, Marco Pierre White proudly announces in the Spring 2009 edition of the CAMRA members' magazine, Beer, that he will shortly be raising the price of a pint of beer from £4 to a fiver in his country pub, the Yew Tree Inn.
"I think most pubs undercharge", he tells the mag. "On the average price of a pint, with the duty and VAT now topping 70p, plus the cost of buying beer from the supplier, and all the other overheads, some publicans are left with less than 60p. How can you survive on that? I think you've got to be brave; after all, people don't have to drink it."
White goes further, suggesting that high prices are his way of discouraging drink-driving:
"By charging more, they drink less and I'm not putting people into their cars over the limit. You might as well sell two pints for eight quid rather than three for nine, because people have to drive home".
He's all heart.
"If I relied on beer drinkers, I'd go out of business", adds Marco. No wonder.