Every time Ken Manring, owner of White Tiger Gourmet in Athens, tosses 80 pounds of pork shoulder onto his smoker, he winces from its cost, not its weight.
That’s because the price of meat, such as pork and beef, have quickly risen in the past few months to some of the highest prices seen in years. Add to that the recent fuel surcharges tacked on by delivery companies, and local chefs are feeling pinched every time they make up the day’s menu.
“There’s not much you can do – everything went up a couple of years ago when fuel was out of control,” Manring said. “Some things have gone back down, but most things never really did.”