Everyone seems to have an opinion about Chef Patron Heston Blumenthal, especially in Britain, and wbpstars.com has never before received so many comments and input about any other restaurant. After digging through all mails etcetera that we have received it is obvious that a lot of people have not even been to The Fat Duck. So how can so many have an opinion about a man and his restaurant without even having been to the restaurant? Well, gastronomy creates feelings and causes debate when someone does something different and self-taught Heston Blumenthal has certainly walked his own way, a way straight into becoming one of the most important chefs of our time.

Heston Blumenthal was born in London in 1966, but his signature restaurant was not founded until the late summer of 1995. Over a decade before that he studied French cooking techniques and cuisine and made numerous trips to France. All the dedicated research proved to be valuable and the chef still today spends a lot of time researching, discovering and evolving, not least the British cuisine.

Today, the kitchen is run by the Canadian Head Chef Jonny Lake and the cuisine is developed even further. The Fat Duck is famous for its presentations of the various dishes and some might be a bit theatrical, but all you hear from the talented staff during a presentation has a purpose and in most cases your taste buds will cherish whatever you have and pay tribute to the chef. Sure, the vapour of nitrogen can be a bit too much and studied, like with the nitro poached apéritifs with different flavours of vodka & lime sour, gin & tonic and Campari soda, but in most cases you are having just brilliant proper food, like the lamb with cucumber, onion and dill fluid gel based on an old recipe, or the salmon poached in a liquorice gel. All you have will have more or less of Heston Blumenthal’s unique touch and style and you will think of your dinner experience a long time after your visit as well.

There is storytelling around all the dishes that are served at The Fat Duck and something genius and fantastic will always come with a good story, which is just how we work and how we do when we spread our words about something we like others to experience as well. The story about Heston Blumenthal and his phenomenal The Fat Duck will never end and hopefully his masterpiece of a restaurant will continue to evolve for many more years to come. The Fat Duck is a restaurant to return to on a regular basis and not just a once in a lifetime experience for people who just like to say that they have dined at Heston Blumenthal’s.

Image of Chef Patron Heston Blumenthal: Courtesy The Fat Duck

Written by Andy & Joakim