Food The Daily Mail Presents: The World's Most Expensive . . .

[caitlin1214]

A white truffle, pictured, was bought at auction last week for £85,000. But what else carries a price tag to make you gasp? See our gallery of pictures...





If you spread F Duerr & Son's Fine Cut Seville Orange Marmalade with Whisky, Champagne and Gold on your toast for breakfast, you'll be £76 poorer after you've finished the slice. Made with the finest Seville oranges, this condiment is infused with vintage Dalmore 62 single malt whisky from Whyte & Mackay, valued at £32,000 per bottle, Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill 1996 vintage champagne and edible flakes of 24-carat gold.





The ultimate in edible opulence, this diamond-encrusted cake was presented in Beverly Hills at the Luxury Brands Bridal Show in upmarket Rodeo Drive. The cake, created by Mimi So jewellers and cake designer Nahid - La Patisserie Artistique, was protected by a team of uniformed security guards at the show.





This diamond-encrusted teabag was made last year by Boodles jewellers to celebrate PG Tips' 75th birthday. The trained taste bud would want to swop all the tea in China for this rare tea leaf from Darjeeling in India. Its pale green, almost white leaves are hand-picked from the buds in the oldest garden in India exclusively at spring time. Five chests containing 55 kg of Makaibari Silver Tips (Imperial) were sold at auction in Calcutta in July 2003. The deal fetched 18,000 Saudi riyals, or £2,517 per kilogram.





Sporting signatures from some of the world's greatest musicians, this Fender Stratocaster should be priceless. Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Paul McCartney, Sting, Liam Gallagher and Bryan Adams, among others, have all made their mark on this six-string, making its price tag soar well into seven figures. In November 2005, the new Strat was sold at auction in Doha, Qatar, for $2.7 million.

 

[caitlin1214]

If you visit during peak season (July to August), the Penthouse Suite at Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France, has a nightly rate of e30,000, or just over £20,000. For that, you get 1,000 sq m of space comprising four bedrooms, two whirlpool baths overlooking the Mediterranean, two saunas, two living rooms, two dining rooms and two dressing rooms - plus the comfort of knowing you're getting the most expensive night's sleep money can buy.





The Pond - Moonlight by Edward Steichen, taken in Mamaroneck, New York, in 1904, broke the world record price for a photograph when it was sold for $2.9 million - £1.67 million - at a Sotheby's sale in New York in February 2006. The image, a moonlit landscape with reflections of trees in a pond, measures 42cm by 40cm, and only three prints from the negative are known to exist.





In May 2006, the world's most expensive phone number was auctioned for charity in Qatar, in the Middle East. The number, 666 6666, sold for 10 million Qatari riyals - the equivalent of £1.5 million - to an anonymous buyer. In the Bible, the number sequence 666 is associated with the Devil. Yet in Kabbalah Judaism, 666 is regarded as a holy number sequence because it represents the six directions (up, down, north, south, east and west).





American lingerie firm Victoria's Secret broke all records in 2002 with its dazzlingly expensive underwear set. This unique bra, modelled by Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen at the opening of the firm's Broadway store in New York, is made of red satin and is laden with 1,300 gemstones, including 300 carats of Thai rubies and sprays of hand-cut diamonds. The exorbitant price includes free delivery in an armoured van, complete with specially trained security guards.





The world's most expensive fish product is a type of Beluga caviar called Almas, which in Russian means diamond. This caviar, from 100-yearold albino sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, is completely white. It is sold at Caviar House & Prunier in London's Picadilly, in 24-carat gold tins

 

[caitlin1214]

If you fancy this treat for next year, better start saving now. Encrusted with more than 100 half-carat diamonds, this egg took more than three weeks to make in Paris and is a blend of different chocolates from all over the world. It was shipped to London's La Maison Du Chocolat, where a top chef melted the gems into the chocolate shell. At two feet tall, it is hardly pocket-sized, and without the diamonds, the egg alone costs only £500. But you'd have to be nuts to want to eat such an exquisite work of choc-art.





Have the swankiest swing on the fairway with this set of clubs. Custom-fitted and made to order by Japanese company Honma, the Twin Marks MG-R18 Amazing Spec clubs have 24-carat gold and platinum detailing. A host of golf-mad celebrities and royalty own them.





Who said beauty was skin deep? With the limited edition Models 1 Diamond Straighteners, beauty is as deep as the richest woman's pockets. Adorned with six Dutch rose-cut diamonds and set in 18 carat yellow and white gold, this is the world's most expensive hair accessory.





Launched in October by Altadis, Spain's exclusive importer of Cuban cigars, the Cohiba brand Behike cigar is the world's most expensive smoke. Hand-rolled by one lady, Norma Fernandez Sastre, only 4,000 examples of this exclusive cigar have been made. The Behike cigar comes only in boxes of 40, which cost $18,860, or £9,897. This superlative cigar was made to honour 40 years of the Cohiba brand.





It might be too much to swallow, but the McDonald sandwich (no relation to the fast food giant) carries an £85 price tag. Created by Scott McDonald for London's Selfridges store, it contains Japanese Wagyu beef, fresh lobe foie gras, black truffle mayonnaise, brie de meaux cheese, rocket, red pepper, mustard confit and English plum tomatoes.

 

[caitlin1214]

The world's most expensive pancake has gone on sale and at a staggering £95 it's flipping expensive. Ingredients topping the organic pancake include Don Perignon champagne jelly and a selection of berries flambeed in vintage brandy.

 

[HubbaWubba]

I understand for the sake of "art" some of the creations, but I don't get putting jewels on food. Is it because some of the food does not live up to the hype? I mean diamond tea bag??? What is the point? I must admit that McDonald sandwich makes me hungry even though I don't eat beef!

 

[Kiss Me Deadly]

I dont understand the truffle.. can anyone care to explain.. is it a mushroom? Why is it so expensive?

 

[Charles]

...edible flakes of 24-carat gold.

Psh! I've drank so much Goldschlager that you could make a necklace from the flakes in my poop!

 

[lv-lover]

I dont understand the truffle.. can anyone care to explain.. is it a mushroom? Why is it so expensive?

Because the demand for them is fairly high, and harvesting/cultivating them is pretty darn hard. I think the one in the picture is kind of large.

 

[alvie223]

Wow it must be nice to 'play' with that kind of money

 

[Vegas Long Legs]

I dont understand the truffle.. can anyone care to explain.. is it a mushroom? Why is it so expensive?

Its a mushroom that grows under the ground. They come in black & white (most expensive). You harvest them using pigs who dig them up & then you have to try to get the truffle away from the pig. The pig thinks they are rather tasty so he learns to gobble quickly. I'm not making this up. So they are hard to find, have a short season, & you have the problem that the harvester (pig)
has acquired a taste for them. France supposedly grow the best truffles. I will take midwest grown Morrell mushrooms any day - yummy!
Everyone 'tastes' food differently. Truffles to me taste like eating dirt, which is what I've been told makes them so delicious. Not to me! Dh tastes nothing. We are foodies & come across dishes that have truffles in them alot. But to us, no big deal.

 

[holly di]

Psh! I've drank so much Goldschlager that you could make a necklace from the flakes in my poop!

LMAO!!!!

 

[hermesgroupie]

I dont understand the truffle.. can anyone care to explain.. is it a mushroom? Why is it so expensive?

What actually makes them expensive is that they MUST be harvested from the wild. Attempts to cultivate the truffle, either black or white, have always failed. No one has been able to figure out what conditions are conducive to growing them in a greenhouse. Otherwise, they'd be much cheaper. I love the taste of white truffles, it is an earthy flavor with a musky overtone in its scent. The reason the harvester (pig) is attracted to it is it resembles a pheromone emited by the male of the species.

 

[lv-lover]

What actually makes them expensive is that they MUST be harvested from the wild. Attempts to cultivate the truffle, either black or white, have always failed. No one has been able to figure out what conditions are conducive to growing them in a greenhouse. Otherwise, they'd be much cheaper. I love the taste of white truffles, it is an earthy flavor with a musky overtone in its scent. The reason the harvester (pig) is attracted to it is it resembles a pheromone emited by the male of the species.

They use dogs to harvest truffles now. The dogs don't seem to like eating truffles as much as pigs. Oink oink!

 

[claireZk]

OMG! This looks soooooooooo good!!!!!