A Sydney mum has fired up over the ‘unAustralian’ price of tomato sauce at one of the country’s most storied sporting venues.
Naomi Toy was left stunned when she ordered a small chips from a Merivale-run kiosk at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday and was charged $2 for a small tub of tomato sauce.
She attended the venue along with her husband to watch a long-awaited third One Day fixture between Australia and India.
‘I grabbed a small chips and as I was about to pay asked the cashier for some tomato sauce and she said it was $2,’ Ms Toy told the Daily Mail.
‘I said ‘how much?’ And she said $2. I couldn’t believe it.’
The small tub of Birch & Waite’s Gourmet Tomato Sauce brought the order of small hot chips up to a total of $9.20, Ms Toy said.
‘I said ‘sure’ because what am I going to do?’ she added.
‘I like sauce with my chips and to be honest these chips were looking a little on the dry side so they needed it too. But I mean c’mon. I can buy an entire squeezy bottle of tomato sauce from Woollies for $2.’
Naomi Toy (pictured) has railed against hospitality giant Merivale for charging $2 for a small side of tomato sauce at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Pictured is an image of the order Ms Toy shared to social media, reading: ‘$2 for sauce!’
Ms Toy claimed the serving size didn’t justify the mark-up.
‘This tiny little tub was barely enough for my serve of chips. I had to ration,’ she said.
‘It wouldn’t be enough for a large serve of ships I don’t reckon – not that the large is that large – you’d have to get two.
‘I just want a good squirt of tomato sauce. The food is so expensive at the SCG now.
‘Who knows how much they’re charging for a bit of soy or chilli sauce at the Queen Chow Noodles stand?
‘It’s not like this is your little local takeaway shop trying to make a bit extra at the margins. It’s Merivale.’
Ms Toy vented her frustrations on social media, sharing an image of the small portion size alongside a caption describing the cost as ‘extortion’.
‘I want to report a robbery, one even more brazen than the Louvre heist!’ she joked.
Ms Toy attended the iconic sporting venue on Saturday to watch a one-day match between India and Australia. India won by seven wickets, after losing the first two fixtures
‘[I] know I haven’t been to a One-Dayer for a while, but $2 for a tomato sauce! That’s unAustralian!
‘I can get a whole bottle for that at Woollies. You should be allowed to bring your own if this extortion continues.’
The sporting venue has come under fire in the past for charging the hefty fee for what most Aussies expect to come either free or, at most, 40 cents.
Social media users have previously fired up on the ‘un-Australian’ condiment price and it was the subject of an article for youth culture site, The Brag.
‘Where does the S.C.G. get off charging $2 for sauce?’ it said.
‘This is nothing short of hostile, and an act of war on Sydney sports fans.’
Merivale is a Australia’s largest hospitality company and is owned and operated by billionaire chief executive Justin Hemmes.
It owns a number of fine-dining spots around Sydney, including Totti’s, Mr Wong, Mimi’s and Uccello and more recently expanded into Melbourne.
It has operated the food and beverage within the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium since December 2021.
Daily Mail has contacted Merivale for comment.
