The spy who dined well: James Bond and the real cost of fine dining

Abstract

ABSTRACT We constructed a time series of menu prices for the identifiable restaurants at which James Bond dined in France that yields one of the few international price series representing luxury services. We also compiled a time series on the salary of workers in the British Civil Service at Grade 7, like Bond, from 1953 to 2019. Our results indicate that French restaurant prices increased faster than Grade 7 salaries over the entire period and changes in the British exchange rate were not favourable for Bond. To dine weekly in France, during the 1950s and 1960s, Bond would have spent 18% of his salary; whereas over the course of the Euro era the same basket of luxury services would have required on average 26% of his salary.