Rs 39 lakh Olympic lunch causes stir

A photo circulating online is claiming to show that 15 Olympic Games officials racked up a £44,660 (Rs 39 lakh) bill for a business lunch - including a staggering £19,000 (Rs 16 lakh) on one bottle of Hennessy 1853 cognac.

The service charge for the meal - apparently enjoyed at a restaurant in London's exclusive Dorchester Hotel - came to £4,962.26 (Rs 4.32 lakh) alone.

The partial view of the bill shows relatively modestly-priced dishes - such as portions of spiced chicken for £15 (Rs 1,306) apiece, vegetarian fried rice for £5 (Rs 435) and sorbet platters at £7 (Rs 609) a time - alongside the costly cognac.

The receipt was posted on social media site Reddit by a user who claimed to know a worker at the unnamed restaurant.u00a0It was then reported on an American news site with an appeal for more details about the pricey meal.

Fine dining: Receipt of the expensive lunch enjoyed by them
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A further report by a US website suggested that the extravagant lunch had been enjoyed at the China Tang restaurant at The Dorchester on London's Park Lane, where the cocktail menu offers a 35cl bottle of Hennessy 1853 cognac for £19,000. When contact the restaurant responded, "No comment."

The man's Reddit account has since been closed, but when posting the picture he wrote mischievously, "My friend's a waiter and this is a receipt for an official lunch for 15 Olympic Bosses in London. Now we see where all the money's going."

A staff member who spoke to website said the restaurant had hosted several parties of Olympic officials but she could not remember this group in particular.

The Olympics are both privately and publicly funded, and these games will cost about $3.1 billion.u00a0