Ed Sheeran’s Tomato Ketchup Advert Has a Dig at Fancy Fine Dining

Ed Sheeran’s main gripe with fine dining is too many forks

Ed Sheeran’s Heinz tomato ketchup advert sees The Shape of You and I Don’t Care pop star taking a cliché-ridden swipe at Michelin-star/fancy/fine dining restaurants. Sheeran is a known ketchup stan, with a tattoo on his arm, and his love for the condiment is on full display as he describes a “super posh” restaurant full of chandeliers, classical music, and “too many forks.” When served a “posh and fancy blah blah blah, farm-to-table blah blah blah, with a side of blah blah blah,” Sheeran whips out a ketchup bottle. Props to Heinz for selecting glass, as thumping the side as it reluctantly spurts out is achingly awkward, the waiter “screaming through his eyes.”

Sheeran’s ability to parlay himself into his favourite things — see Game of Thrones — has another boost, as he sent Heinz a tweet and direct message to get the ad made, although the brand with 57 varieties was unlikely to ghost one of the world’s biggest pop stars. Sheeran’s love of tomato-based products does not end here: he is regularly spotted at Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Gymkhana, which recently closed after a fire, where he enjoys butter chicken. Without ketchup. [Youtube]

And in other news...

• Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca’s ‘dine-and-dash’ policy nightmare, explained.
• Boris Johnson would rather order a takeaway than answer questions about his suitability to be Prime Minister.
• Kelloggs are making Tory white chocolate Coco Pops for the first time ever. [Mirror]
• It’s also turning wasted cereals into beer, with some seriously natty names. ‘Cast Off Pale Ale’! [Independent]
• British beef will be exported to China for the first time in 23 years; the deal could be worth £230 million over five years. Always good to trade with a country and its questionable human rights record. [Food Manufacture]
• The viral garlic peeling video is another example of an apparently easy technique that is in fact dependent on correct apparatus, tools, and practice. Just shake them in a bowl. [Mashable]
• Burger & Lobster’s lobster roll spin-off Smack Lobster is now exclusively virtual — the Dean Street restaurant in Soho has closed. [Big Hospitality]
• Good tweet: