A New York City Restaurant Is Selling a $250,000 Valentine's Day Dessert
Valentine's Day is the annual opportunity for people to pull out all the stops to impress their dates, whether through fancy dinner reservations, thoughtful gifts, or big romantic gestures. While heavy spending is not always necessary in order to honor a romantic partner on Valentine's Day, Americans typically go all out for the holiday.
According to an annual survey from the National Retail Federation, consumers who plan to celebrate Valentine's Day will spend an average of $192.80. Overall, Americans plan to spend up to $25.9 billion on Valentine's Day this year, per the survey.
Some restaurants, such as New York City's legendary Serendipity3, are now looking to cash in on Americans' hefty Valentine's Day spending habits by offering limited or outrageously expensive experiences.
Serendipity3 is known for its Frrrozen Hot Chocolate made with a blend of 14 cocoas and offered in a range of flavors such as peanut butter, mint, and birthday cake. But for Valentine's Day, the establishment is partnering with jewelry designer Lorraine Shwartz, to offer a bejeweled, pricier take on this classic treat. Enter the Diamond Frrrozen Hot Chocolate—just like the original, but a little more bedazzled.
The dessert will be presented in a Serendipity3 goblet "dripping" with Austrian crystals made by Kellie DeFries, according to a release. It will be filled with the restaurant's signature drink and topped with whipped cream, edible glitter, chocolate shavings gilded with 23K edible gold, and gold straws.
A gilded chocolate sphere filled with edible diamonds will be served alongside the goblet. And, harkening back to the name of the special Valentine's Day offering, the dessert will also come with a diamond-studded 18K white gold bypass ring designed by Schwartz. The ring features a 0.69 carat natural fancy pink heart-shaped diamond, as well as a 0.77 carat natural very light blue pear shaped-diamond and 1.15 carats of white diamond pave surrounding the larger gemstones.
The price tag for the outrageous dessert, only available on February 14, is $250,000.
"As big lovers of Lorraine Schwartz, we were thrilled to get to work with her on this special Valentine's Day Diamond Frrrozen Hot Chocolate featuring some of her gorgeous pieces," said Chef Joe Calderone, creative director at Serendipity3. "The dessert is over-the-top in all the right ways and we know our Serendipity3 customers are absolutely going to love it."
Calderone told Eat This, Not That! that only one Diamond Frrrozen Hot Chocolate will be offered at the NYC Serendipity3 location as the Schwartz ring is a one-of-a-kind design.
Serendipity3 has made waves in the past for offering another high-priced iteration of a classic menu item. In July 2021, the restaurant scored a Guinness World Records title for the Most Expensive French Fries. Coming in at a $200 price tag, the fancy fries were blanched in Dom Perignon Champagne, cooked thrice in pure goose fat and topped with shaved truffle and 23K edible gold dust, among other accoutrements.
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