'Obscene' price of humble café item disgusts Aussies

In the face of skyrocketing living expenses, a Perth café has left patrons stunned by the exorbitant price of a humble dessert.

A recent visitor to a café at St John of God Hospital in Subiaco took to Reddit to share a snapshot of a custard tart priced at an eye-watering $7.

Alongside the image the customer wrote, "I'm not sure if the custard tart serves as an economic indicator, but the 'cheapest' of treats has suddenly become a luxury item!"

Reddit users wasted no time expressing their opinions, with a resounding consensus that a custard tart should not command such a high price. One person jokingly remarked, "That's it. I'm planting a custard tree," while another asserted, "No custard tart is worth $7."

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Significant markup

The discussion turned to the actual cost of producing the small bakery item, with one individual taking it upon themselves to calculate the approximate expenses of its ingredients, using prices from Coles. Taking into account the costs of pastry, milk, sugar, cornflour, eggs and vanilla, the user determined a whole batch would amount to roughly $4.63. Considering the production of eight pies, this calculation revealed an approximate cost of 71 cents per tart, highlighting an estimated markup of nearly 900% on the pastries.

In response, one group member stated, "The wankers making these obscene profits will soon see reason and drop their prices when no one buys their overpriced crap." Someone else joked, "What am I cutting hair for a living for? I could be making bank making custard tarts."

Indeed, when examining the current retail pricing of custard tarts, $7 for a single tart stands at the higher end of the spectrum. For instance, Coles Bakery offers a pack of two custard tarts for $5.75, while Miss Maud's, an artisan bakery in Western Australia, sells their individually crafted in-store custard tarts for $5.95 each.

However, others pointed out that some people might have overlooked additional factors such as wages and equipment costs when estimating the pricing. "Food business prices are based on more than just the ingredients that go into a dish," one user wrote.

It's not clear whether a portion of revenue raised by the café goes back into the hospital or if staff members are paid or hired on a voluntary basis. Yahoo News has contacted St John of God Hospital for comment.

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