One Fat Duck

Two weeks of eating only meat and stodge in Eastern Europe, followed by a long weekend in Manchester devouring the mountains of chocolate my teacher-girlfriend had been given by her class for Christmas, and I feel (and look) like One Fat Duck.

Which reminds me that I’ve yet to post a review on Boyfriend and my excursion to Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin star restaurant, The Fat Duck, in Bray.

Our four hour, £400 degustation lunch marked the occasion of Boyfriend’s thirtieth birthday. Notoriously hard to buy for, at least one sure way to my Boyfriend’s heart is through his stomach – via his highly discerning taste buds, of course.

I’d read much about Blumenthal and his Duck: the self-taught, culinary alchemist opened his 40-cover fine dining hideaway in 1995, gaining it’s first Michelin star in 2001 – the third in 2004 – and receiving international acclaim, being named Best Restaurant in the world, in April 2005, by the "50 Best" Academy of over 600 international food critics, journalists and chefs. When I interviewed Blumenthal for Bazaar online, a few months back, I found him in equal measures intriguing and personable. And while his recipes would scare off the average diner, the years of trial and error (yes, years: his "Sound of the Sea" course took three years from concept to consumption) cannot but be admired.

For gastro-gluttons like us, an outing to Bray was simply a must. So I made the call; and called again, and again. Reservation lines open at 10am exactly two months before the date, with places filled within five minutes, but finally I got through. And I managed to keep the whole thing a secret!

We caught the train from Paddington to Maidenhead, then a quick taxi. Its façade is unassuming, however, as soon as we were through the doors we were greeted like old (very important) friends. Our coats were checked, we were led to our table, and eighteen courses later we were ready to roll back to London.

While I admire Blumenthal and his principles of molecular gastronomy – his Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream with Red Cabbage Gazpacho was one of my favourites – I did sometimes wonder if I actually liked what I was eating, or was simply enjoying the madness of it all? Sifting through razor clams and baby eels atop sand made from tapioca and grape seeds, while listening to the sounds of waves and seagulls through a shell-encased iPod, is an experience, yes, but delicious, no. And yet we ate on… sharing a few giggles along with our wine.

Ultimately dining at The Duck is a once in a lifetime experience… for most of us that is. But for those lucky enough not to be tightening their belts, Blumenthal offers an equally pleasing a la carte menu, to be enjoyed time and again. Who knows, maybe we’ll return in five years for my thirtieth. Depends what Givenchy has brought out that season!

Le Tasting Menu

Nitro-poached green tea and lime mousse
Orange and beetroot jelly
Oyster with passion fruit jelly and lavender
Pommery grain mustard ice cream with red cabbage gazpacho
Jelly of quail, langoustine cream and a parfait of foie gras
Oak moss and truffle toast

Snail porridge with Jabugo ham and shaved fennel

Roast foie gras “Benzaldehyde” with almond fluid gel and cherry and chamomile

“Sound of the Sea” (as described)

Salmon poached in liquorice gel, with artichoke, vanilla mayonnaise and “Manni” olive oil

Ballotine of Anjou pigeon, black pudding “Made to Order”, pickling brine and spiced juices

Hot and Iced tea

Mrs Marshall’s Margaret Cornet

Pine sherbet fountain

Mango and Douglas fir puree with Bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet

Parsnip cereal

Nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice cream with pain perdu and tea jelly

Petit fours of carrot and orange lolly, mandarin aerated chocolate, apple pie caramel “Edible Wrapper” and violet tartlet