You would not think that a mushroom could cost a lot of money. Most of us pick up a box in the supermarket for around £1.50. However, the matsutake mushroom costs in the region of £500 per pound. These mushrooms were previously very common in Japan during the autumn months but an insect has since threatened the crops by killing the trees that the mushrooms previously grew underneath. This means that the matsutake Mushrooms have become incredibly rare and sought after. There have been no developments with regards to growing these specifically as foodstuffs and until such farming methods are developed, they will continue to be expensive.

Reasonably-priced mushrooms get my vote.

Rather unbelievably, the humble melon has relatives which are amongst the most expensive foods in the world - the dansuke watermelon and the yubari melon. The dansuke melon comes in at around £3,000. These Japanese watermelons are extremely rare with only around 65 being produced in each harvest. Apparently they are sweeter than other melons. The yubari melons are a whole new level of expense, retailing around £11,000 - yes, you read that correctly.

Again, in terms of reasonably priced foodstuffs, bagels are a staple - £2 for a packet and even once you buy toppings for your bagels your total food bill would probably only come to around a fiver. You would have to take more money with you if you were considering dining at the Westin Hotel in New York. Executive Chef Frank Tujague has created the most expensive bagel in the world at a cost of $1,000. You may question how a bagel could possibly cost this much. It is all down to the incredibly expensive toppings. Tujague is topped with Riesling jelly infused with goji berry, actual gold leaves and white truffle cream cheese. White truffles alone are the second most expensive food by weight in the world.

Reasonably-priced melons also get my vote.

Another expensive restaurant item is billed as the ‘zillion dollar frittata’, again costing $1,000. Frittata is an egg-based dish and eggs are not expensive but the other ingredients in this frittata are lobster and sevruga caviar. The menu listing reads ‘Norma dares you to expense this!’

The most elite steak in the world is the wagyu steak from wagyu cattle which are predominantly found in Japan. It is the Kobe variety which is the most sought after. You have probably heard people talking about Kobe beef. These cows which produce Kobe beef are fed on beer (I know many men who like the sound of that diet) and are hand massaged to promote tenderness of the meat. It sounds like these cows have quite the life. A full Kobe rib eye steak would cost in the region of £1,400. With the hefty price tag also comes an unhealthy fat content.

Most of us enjoy eating curry, but would you enjoy it quite so much if it was costing in the region of £1,600? This was a one-off curry which was created to coincide with the DVD release of Slumdog Millionaire. The Bombay Brasserie concocted curries from the most expensive ingredients in the world including white truffle, Devon crab, beluga caviar, gold leaf, quails eggs and lobster.

It seems only fitting that we pay homage to the most expensive pizza in the world, costing around £2,000. It is the Pizza Royale 007 from Domenico Crolla. As with the previous dishes it is stacked full of expensive ingredients such as caviar soaked in champagne, venison medallions and vintage balsamic vinegar. It is topped with real gold flakes.

An acquired taste.

We have heard about many dishes using caviar. The most expensive caviar is Almas caviar from Iran which is as rare as it is expensive at around £16,000 for a kilo. For this money it is packaged in a 24-karat gold tin. It is, apparently, an acquired taste.

Truffles are the most expensive food items in the world - not the Belgian chocolate variety. The food which is often referred to as ‘the king of all funghi’, truffles are very rare which is why they are so expensive, with an Italian White Alba Truffle costing up to around £80,000.

These are the cheap truffles.

And so we find ourselves at the most expensive spice in the world – saffron. It always seems strange to think that a spice can be as costly as this since it consists of flavoured grains which are smaller in consistency than sand. However, this spice comes from the saffron crocus and it actually requires 225,000 hand-picked stigmas or 75,000 blossoms to produce just one pound of saffron. That pound of saffron can subsequently be sold for around £2,500. Unsurprisingly, this spice is used sparingly by anyone who has the funds to actually afford it.

And so there we have it, foods which the average Joe will never afford unless he is lucky enough to win the lottery. And even then, would he actually wish to eat them?

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