Diners searching for the ultimate Instagram-worthy meal are turning to an unlikely and expensive ingredient: edible gold.
If you’re willing to spend top dollar, you can snack on a $214 gold-infused grilled cheese, a $2,000 gilded pizza, a $1,000 gold-topped bagel, a $1,000 golden-layered ice cream sundae and even an ultra-decadent gold taco for $25,000.
But for Jonathan Cheban, a food influencer known for Instgramming outrageous meals (and for being best friends with Kim Kardashian West), edible gold is questionable.
“It literally is like eating paper that disintegrates in your mouth,” Cheban, who is known to his social media followers as “Foodgod,” tells CNBC Make It. “There is absolutely no taste.
“It looks really good, it’s decadent but it really tastes like nothing,” he says.
If you want a truly tasty gold topped meal, Cheban says there are two restaurants serving luxurious fare worth the price tag, both for under $100.
Chef Bjorn Delacruz creates a handcrafted doughnut with premium ingredients like $200-per-bottle Cristal champagne and ube, a purple yam from the Philippines.
It’s also covered in 24-karat gold dust and gold leaf.
“Their doughnuts are covered in gold, but the inside is actually the most incredible thing in the entire world,” Cheban says. “One of my favorite things that I’ve had with gold.”
Cheban bought a box of the doughnuts — which sell for $100 a piece — for his mother’s birthday last July. A dozen will set you back a whopping $1,200.
The sweet treats can be found via the Manila Social Club in either Brooklyn, New York or Miami, Florida, depending where the chef is at the time.
In January, the eatery’s Brooklyn location announced it would close for six months as Delacruz decided to take a trip, “setting up donut shops and hosting exclusive dining experiences around the country,” according to Manila Social Club’s Facebook page.
If you prefer savory indulgences, Cheban recommends this decadent baked potato from Komodo in Miami, Florida.
For $24, you get a sweet potato with wasabi butter, tobiko, shaved truffles and gold leaf sprinkled on top. The dish is called the Super Sweet Potato.
“I don’t even eat baked potatoes,” Cheban says, but he’s willing to make an exception in this case. “This has so much stuff on it. It’s incredible.”
Of course, the restaurant named a dessert after Cheban — the Foodgod Baked Alaska Surprise — so he may be a little biased.
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