'I tried IKEA's £1 full English - it fills a hole but better than famous chef's offering'
Food critic Gary Hanna, known for his YouTube channel, Gary Eats, recently found himself at a branch of the Swedish furniture giant trying a seriously cheap full English
A food critic who sampled a remarkably cheap £1 full English at IKEA has given it a higher rating than a comparable dish at a restaurant owned by one of Britain's most celebrated celebrity chefs. During a recent mission to discover the "cheapest eats" across the UK, Gary Hanna, who runs the food review channel Gary Eats on YouTube, found himself at an IKEA - though he wasn't there for the Swedish retailer's famous meatballs.
In a video entitled I Review The UK's Cheapest Breakfast, Gary showcased a poster advertising IKEA's Full Swedish breakfast, which family members (registration is free) can purchase for the astonishingly low price of £1.
Before venturing into the store to try the budget breakfast, Gary informed his audience that this eye-catching deal is available for a restricted period only - Saturdays exclusively, between 9.30am and 11am until December 20.
Gary's large breakfast featured bacon, sausage, hash browns, omelette, and beans (priced at £1.50 but reduced to £1 for a smaller portion).
He additionally ordered black pudding as a side for 75p, a vegetarian breakfast for £1, and a bacon roll for £1.75.
Whilst sampling what he characterised as a "commercial" sausage, Gary remarked that it was "lovely and hot", though not the "tastiest in the world", although he acknowledged you'd "eat it, no problem".
Turning to the bacon, Gary observed that it was "good" but "just a touch hard".
He wasn't "keen" on the egg, however, remarking that it was also a "bit on the hard side" and a "bit artificial". He branded the hash browns as "regular" and the beans as "tiny" and "not very tomatoey".
Gary then sampled the black pudding (not part of the breakfast) and was left less than impressed, calling it "really peppery" and "incredibly dry". Moving on to the veggie option, Gary noted that he'd already tried most items.
However, when he went on to try the veggie sausage, he savagely described it as the "worst sausage" that he's "ever had the pleasure" of trying.
Despite his mixed views on the food, when summing up his experience, Gary, who conceded that you don't get the "best quality" but it "fills a hole", gave the breakfast 10 stars for value and also praised IKEA, ultimately giving the meal a respectable seven out of 10.
However, the same couldn't be said about his assessment of a similar offering from Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen and Bar last year. On the menu, the £19 English Breakfast included sausage, bacon, tomato, mushroom, beans, hash brown, eggs and toast.
As he tucked into his meal, Gary noted the "tasty" sausage, the "really good" scrambled egg and the "okay" hash brown, but described the bacon as "hard" and "salty".
It seemed that, overall, however, Gary wasn't particularly impressed, as, when giving his verdict at the end of the video, he said he would be "really generous" and give his breakfast two and a half/three stars.