The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
Holidays always conjure up happy memories and many of our most powerful recollections of vacations involve the sight, taste, texture, and smell of food. An exclusive restaurant combines all those ingredients. Step inside, suspend all belief and fall down a rabbit hole into a world of pure imagination. All-year-round diners can relive the holidays and feast their five senses at one of the country’s top restaurant’s as they enter the mind of one of the culinary world’s most revolutionary chefs. Food is served in a theatrical flourish, with a focus on storytelling. Before epicureans’ astonished eyes an edible gold pocket watch is dropped into a Mock Turtle Soup to form a beef consommé. In another course, edible pillows float before their eyes and then they are teased by the extraordinary notion of bacon and eggs-flavoured ice cream. All this can be discovered within the sleepy Berkshire village of Bray at celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s world-famous restaurant – The Fat Duck.
The Fat Duck is in within an exclusive club of eight restaurants in the UK, holding the lofty three Michelin star status. Yet the man behind the Fat Duck is a tour-de-force in the culinary world. A non-conformist chef who tells stories through food that captivate minds as well as tantalise tastebuds. Plunging his guests into dreamed utopias where food is not what it seems, he offers grand gastronomy that marries immersive theatrical presentation. Heston Blumenthal may very well be among the ranks of Alain Ducasse and Gordon Ramsay, yet also in a class of his own since he provides the country’s unique ‘molecular gastronomy fine dining’ experience. He challenges all conventional methods of cooking as his motto is to ‘question everything’. Harnessing the power of perception and memory is his driving force. Multi-sensory’ dining is the mantra of this restaurant and every dish is flamboyantly served and presented to evoke a reaction and conjure up emotional responses.
The food maestro presents four menus according to the seasons which he calls Anthologies. These guide diners on a journey into the extraordinary world of his utterly original culinary ingenuity over his career. His dishes include nitro-poached green tea and lime mousse, aerated beetroot, Red cabbage gazpacho, orange and beetroot jellies. All his dishes defy conventional cooking methods to create sublime cuisine under laboratory conditions. The result is both creative and aesthetically astounding, earning it a ‘top 10 places to eat on the planet’ spot.
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"Plunging his guests into dreamed utopias where food is not what it seems, Blumenthal offers grand gastronomy that marries innovative theatrical presentation."
All this innovation and creation began in 1995 in the quintessentially English village of Bray in Berkshire, a beautiful hamlet of gastronomy on the banks of the River Thames. At the time Heston Blumenthal had never worked in a traditional kitchen, yet under the roof of a Grade II listed 16th-century building previously home to The Bell pub, the Fat Duck grew wings. As Blumenthal’s business and ambition grew, he then took over The Hinds Head across the road in 2004. This former hunting lodge and coaching inn since the 1400s would have certainly seen punters at the time discuss the controversial Vicars of Bray Simon Symonds and Simon Alevyn who lived during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. Today, under the Fat Duck Group management, The Hinds Head has its own Michelin star.
A haven of fine dining, Berkshire has two other established three-star restaurants – Alain Roux’s Waterside and Nico Ladenis’ Chez Nico. Over the past quarter of a century, Heston Blumenthal has proved himself to be a modern-day culinary cleric, courting cult status on prime-time TV as well as esteemed acclaim in the restaurant world with The Fat Duck. He has reimagined meals from Roman and Tudor times and presented psychedelic banquets to celebrities as he rose to fame during the tv programme Heston’s Feasts on Channel 4 in 2010. On air, the gastronomic alchemist captivated the audience’s imagination with a new angle to food creation and presentation. His Drink Me concoction from Alice in Wonderland, a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-style chocolate waterfall and a forest bed of mushrooms complete with dry ice and woodland aroma are his hallmarks. Blumenthal also runs Dinner by Heston at the iconic Mandarin Oriental in Mayfair.
Diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 50, Blumenthal has dedicated his life to research, working with historians and scientists and cultivating a culture of childlike curiosity. Perhaps due to his condition Blumenthal believes that food is one of the few experiences where all five of our senses are hard at work, and how we can, and perhaps need to, make the most of this when it comes to enjoying food. He creates exquisite dishes, and he is also a fan of simplicity which is his appeal to the masses with the triple cooked chips concept conjured up in The Fat Duck kitchen, is now a staple in global dining establishments.
The multi-course four-hour banquet guides guests from “breakfast” through to “dinner” with all dishes evoking a child-like wonder, excitement, and an imagined day out. From the moment of arrival. The Fat Duck customers become part of the tale as they taste exotic food and are presented with a map with an imaginary island they are whisked away to fantastical places. Elaborate, interactive presentation amplifies the dining encounter, and every dish creates anticipation as storytellers pepper the experience with flair, knowledge, and passion as well as entertainment and legendary service.
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"Heston Blumenthal imagines the 12 days of Christmas through his special Fable Tree menu, designed to capture the nostalgia of the holiday and all the magic that children create."
Holidays feature large within Blumenthal’s imagination. His summer menu summons days at the beach as ‘Sounds of the Sea’ sees seafood accompanied by seaweed and edible sand to tantalise the senses. Garnished with real sand and shells, to provide extra crunch, not only is this a ‘sight’ to behold, but hearing also plays a part, as an iPod is hidden inside a conch shell and guests are given headphones to listen to the sounds of waves crashing. By elevating the experience of eating the meal, the fish tastes fresher. This beach day all begins with a ‘Rise and shine’ menu full of fun-pack cereal boxes paired with ‘cold and hot tea’.
There is also a three-course dinner of hay-smoked veal sweetbread and crisped chicken’s foot with red-wine mayo. ‘Counting sheep’ sees a meringue resting on a pillow floating above the table thanks to magnetic levitation. At Christmas, the Fable Tree menu is designed to capture holiday memories of childhood through storytelling as diners delve into an ornate bauble containing a langoustine prawn cocktail starter garnished with caviar, three bird roulade, liquid nitrogen cocktails, triple cooked chips, a mince pie with a golden carrot plus cheese that tastes of ice cream and figs that taste of cheese.
Inviting diners to relive summer holidays or a childhood Christmas is what The Fat Duck does best. It is a world where Heston Blumenthal’s own beautiful imagination can know no bounds. Patrons are sure to never forget their visit. Within the walls of this 16th-century building, dining experiences have been known to stir such emotion that they bring guests to happy tears. Engaging all five senses this dining opportunity is perfect to celebrate one of life’s special milestones. Everyone can find their inner child as food and storytelling stir memories and create special moments to last a lifetime.
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