Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck
December 10th, 2009. Posted by luane
Heston Blumenthal is not only one of the greatest and most curious cooks on earth, but he is also one of the best guys on the planet. Along with Thomas Keller, we do “The Ultimate Dinner” together in Sydney for The Starlight Children’s Foundation and the last two have been a blast. I have been to his wonderful restaurant just outside of London, in Bray, three times, I have been lucky and had the guided tour of the lab where lots of experiments take place. Here is a restaurant where every detail is looked after. It is a charming 1500′s building with a very Heston feel inside, by that I mean comfortable and really hospitable, the staff are full of his enthusiasm and you get the feeling that you are sitting down to something really exciting and rare the minute you arrive….and you are!
The 4 to 5 hour dining experience starts out with a beautiful turn of lime meringue frozen in liquid nitrogen and dusted with green tea. You are instructed to pop the whole thing in your mouth and it explodes with flavour and smoke comes out your nose…your palate is awake and ready for more. Nothing on this long journey is what it seems, but what is wonderful is not only is it entertaining and exciting, but importantly it tastes great. From the lime grove to the red cabbage gazpacho, the snail porridge, the jelly of quail and crayfish crème – it is amazing and delicious, then foie gras and the crazily good mock turtle soup.
From there, onto sounds of the sea – an i-pod is given to each guest to listen to the sea and gulls to get you more in the mood for your raw seafood plate complete with beach! Salmon poached in liquorice is delicate and at the same time very complex as is the Anjou pigeon.
Dessert is a blast and the flavour great and the gags keep coming with the “not so full English breakfast” – parsnips masquerading as corn flakes, the famous and rightly so bacon and egg ice cream and finishing with the hot and cold tea. This is Heston at his most whimsical and playful. The meal doesn’t stop there. It is truly a fantastic experience, take the wine match and let the somms do their stuff.
Tags: chefs, food stories, Heston Blumenthal, Neil Perry, Starlight Children's Foundation, The Ultimate Dinner, Thomas Keller, travel
