We took some foreign visitors to a very upmarket London restaurant - and they sat with their plates before them waiting for the rest of the food to arrive. :o)
I was a pastry chef in a Michelin starred restaurant about 10 years ago. We would be in work for 8 am and, because I was pastry, I would finish until after midnight, sometimes at 2am on a Saturday night. We had very few breaks because it took so long to prepare the desserts so I can completely understand the prices.