FOOD

Rod Stewart and the food editor’s rules for tipping in restaurants

A rock’n’roll gratuity of £10,000: has the world of tipping gone mad, asks Tony Turnbull

An Ivy Café, where Tony Turnbull had an unexpected experience; and big tipper Rod Stewart
An Ivy Café, where Tony Turnbull had an unexpected experience; and big tipper Rod Stewart
WIRE IMAGES
Tony Turnbull
The Times

The news that Rod Stewart left a £10,000 Hogmanay tip at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire is great news for the staff, obviously (though he did suggest they bet it on the football). It also means that in 2024 we’re already talking about one of the most contentious subjects in food: tipping.

A strange thing happened to me recently at an Ivy Café. The meal had been good (no, that’s not the curious thing, you cynic), the setting beautiful and the service exemplary. But when the bill came, the waiter insisted he take the service charge off. “I’ve been absolutely hopeless,” he said histrionically. “I was so slow and forgetful that you didn’t even have time to order pudding. I can’t possibly allow you