Kemi Badenoch spends eye-watering sum on steak lunches – but moans she can’t afford a holiday

The Tory leader previously boasted of often having steak for lunch – saying the humble sandwich was “not real food” – but says she can’t always afford a trip to Italy

Tory Kemi Badenoch enjoys steak lunches that cost an eye-watering £12.75, it can be revealed – but she says she can’t afford to go on holiday.

The Tory leader previously boasted of often having steak for lunch – saying the humble sandwich was “not real food”.

And she revealed this week that her usual spot for a beefy lunch is Farmer J, an upscale lunch takeaway with branches across London.

The charred flank steak fieldtray at Farmer J, which comes with a choice of brown rice, spinach or farmers grains, plus two sides, comes to an eye-watering £12.75.

To eat there every day would set you back nearly £65 a week – not including drinks.

That’s 54.7% more than the £42 the average person spends each week on all food, according to the Office for National Statistics.

She told LBC’s Iain Dale: “There’s a new thing that’s opened called Farmer Joe’s (sic), and they do do a steak. I need more protein in my diet, so I do like steak, yes.”

In the same interview Ms Badenoch said her favourite place to go on holiday is Italy, “but I can’t always afford it”.

Asked for her dream holiday destination, she said: “Almost always Italy. I can’t always afford it – but almost always Italy.”

Ms Badenoch’s salary as an MP and leader of the opposition is around £156,537. And in her previous role as Business Secretary, she earned around £163,800.

Ms Badenoch’s husband, Hamish, is a banker – currently working as Deutsche Bank’s global head of future of work and real estate transformation. Details of his salary are not publicly available.

On it’s website, Farmer J boasts that it makes: “Real food, honestly prepared.

“Cultivating authenticity and transparency – from what’s in our food, where it comes from, to how it’s prepared.”