The prospect of an evening at The Fat Duck can only ever be exciting; Waitrose forgiven, Heston still has to be considered the most creatively interesting chef operating in the UK today. Our excitement is only tempered by the fact that we have both been here before (Mrs CC twice before in fact) and little seems changed on the menu which is a mix of Fat Duck classics and the current tasting menu; nothing new for the event it seems. That said, we know that Chef Blumenthal likes to evolve dishes so we hope to experience some surprises tonight. We also know that he’s an absolute perfectionist. In a recent interview with The Independent he said ‘I tell you it’s only from last year that I really felt comfortable with the quality of food and service.’ We wonder if we’ll notice the improvements, we’re hoping so.
The specific event on this particular night is ‘an evening with Krug’ with vintage Krug matched with the food so in that sense at least we’ve got some extra treats. What’s more, the fact that we have both been here before takes away the burden of expectation and we’re in a mood to sit back, enjoy the theatre of eating here and just have a good time. The Fat Duck is the most theatrical restaurant we have encountered and we were both surprised that El Builli for example was so much more straightforward from a table side performance perspective; stunning in respect of food but little in the way of theatre.
We start with the Lime Grove: Nitro Poached Green Tea and Lime Mousse. First out the traps and there’s that word already, Nitro. When you see this word on the menu, you know that a thermal flask of liquid Nitrogen will soon be making its way to the table for a bit of tableside low temp cooking (Nitrogen boils at -196˚C). We’ve seen it before, but like good fireworks, it still delights.
Here, an egg white/vodka/lime mix is dropped into the Nitrogen, mixed back and forth while bobbing around, plucked out, dusted with green tea powder and then you’re instructed to pop the whole thing in your mouth. There’s an initial moment of fear because when things come out of a hot oven they’re hot right, so coming out of 200 degree below Nitrogen you wonder if your tongue is going to get frost bite but no, Nitro Mousse explodes in a puff. This is a fantastic palate cleanser that not only whets the appetite but whets the imagination also.
The specific event on this particular night is ‘an evening with Krug’ with vintage Krug matched with the food so in that sense at least we’ve got some extra treats. What’s more, the fact that we have both been here before takes away the burden of expectation and we’re in a mood to sit back, enjoy the theatre of eating here and just have a good time. The Fat Duck is the most theatrical restaurant we have encountered and we were both surprised that El Builli for example was so much more straightforward from a table side performance perspective; stunning in respect of food but little in the way of theatre.
We start with the Lime Grove: Nitro Poached Green Tea and Lime Mousse. First out the traps and there’s that word already, Nitro. When you see this word on the menu, you know that a thermal flask of liquid Nitrogen will soon be making its way to the table for a bit of tableside low temp cooking (Nitrogen boils at -196˚C). We’ve seen it before, but like good fireworks, it still delights.
Here, an egg white/vodka/lime mix is dropped into the Nitrogen, mixed back and forth while bobbing around, plucked out, dusted with green tea powder and then you’re instructed to pop the whole thing in your mouth. There’s an initial moment of fear because when things come out of a hot oven they’re hot right, so coming out of 200 degree below Nitrogen you wonder if your tongue is going to get frost bite but no, Nitro Mousse explodes in a puff. This is a fantastic palate cleanser that not only whets the appetite but whets the imagination also.
Next up is Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream. The gazpacho is a rich burgundy colour and a pale quenelle of mustard ice cream sits on top. The first time I had this I feared the mustard ice cream, it didn’t sound appetising, but it’s Heston so you give it a go and strangely, it works really well. The ice cream is quite mild so there’s no face pulling on my part. The gazpacho is fresh with a clear and distinct red cabbage flavour. Diced cucumber below the ice cream also gives an additional clean and fresh crunch.
Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream
Jelly of Quail, Crayfish Cream follows though no dish here is ever simple and the menu reads an addition of chicken liver parfait, oak moss and truffle toast. Oak moss and truffle toast? Sounds like a forest scene and since every forest scene needs an eerie fog, cue dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). Here a tray of oak moss is set on the table but before the theatrics, you have to place on your tongue a forest flavour strip. This is like the fresh breath mint strips/films that you can buy at the newsagent but instead of minty fresh breath, here you get more earthy smoky notes to get you in the mood.
Oak moss meets dry ice
The dry ice sits in solid form under the moss and hot water from a cast iron kettle is poured onto the moss. The dry ice of course melts so allowing the forest fog to flow over the table like a scene from Top of The Pops c1980s. The moss is supposed to give some additional smell sensation to the dish but our conclusion is that it is more for theatrical effect which is fine because it is quite amusing. What you’re actually going to eat is quite separately placed on a plate and a bowl in front of you. On one plate, truffle toast, and in a parabolic bowl, jelly of quail, crayfish cream and chicken liver parfait. At the bottom is a pea puree. You’re advised to spoon a bit of everything at the same time which we do and it works incredibly well. We liked this dish a lot more this time round with everything seeming fresher and better balanced but still providing hugely powerful and intense flavours in every component.
Perhaps Heston’s most famous dish of all time next, Snail Porridge together with Jabugo Ham, Shaved Fennel and another delightful glass of Krug Grand Cuvee. This was my first time with the snail porridge and I was a little surprised that ‘snail porridge’ meant ‘snails and porridge’ with the ham mixed into the porridge and the shaved fennel on top. This was quite a full on dish but it does work together. That said, its fame seems to us more due to its concept and name rather than it being the most exceptional food we’ve had at The Fat Duck (or indeed other restaurants). I’m pleased though to have tried this Heston classic.
Snail Porridge
No three star tasting menu is of course complete without Foie Gras somewhere (in the extreme, one third of dishes on Joel Robuchon’s tasting menu contains it! yum). We now have Roast Foie Gras, Rhubarb, Braised Konbu and Crab Biscuit with a delightful glass of 1985. This is a fabulous piece of foie gras but foie gras has difficulty escaping being foie gras even in the hands of The Great Magus himself. His most famous dishes are the surprise value of snail + porridge or eggs + bacon = ice cream but here, while this is a great plate with a great glass of bubbly, it still remains just very good foie gras.
A note on the 1985 Krug, it was extraordinarily powerful on the nose, putting the usually powerful NV Cuvee in its place. To taste, the depth and power followed through and with a sweet pear note, it matched well to the foie gras. An amazing treat.
A note on the 1985 Krug, it was extraordinarily powerful on the nose, putting the usually powerful NV Cuvee in its place. To taste, the depth and power followed through and with a sweet pear note, it matched well to the foie gras. An amazing treat.
Roast Foie Gras, Rhubarb, Braised Konbu and Crab Biscuit
The last time we came here, this next dish was our absolute favourite and something we couldn’t stop talking about for a long time – Mock Turtle Soup. This was a dish that Heston developed for his ‘Feast’ program on television and the dish is subtitled ‘Mad Hatter Tea’ with its origins of course being Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. You get a little reading before starting this dish on both the Mad Hatter and Mock Turtles and the waitress also explains about the origin of the watch to ensure you understand where Heston’s coming from.
Unsurprisingly then, there is much theatre to this dish. First, the tea cup arrives and already in the cup is a ‘gold pocket watch’ on a string chain. Hot water is added by the waitress and you’re invited to stir; the watch dissolves to form a broth with gold flecks swimming inside. The contents of the cup are then to be poured into the bowl in front of you that contains a variety of things, but most noticeably, a large piece of pork cheek wrapped in lardo and a beautiful mock egg with tiny mushrooms placed on top.
Unsurprisingly then, there is much theatre to this dish. First, the tea cup arrives and already in the cup is a ‘gold pocket watch’ on a string chain. Hot water is added by the waitress and you’re invited to stir; the watch dissolves to form a broth with gold flecks swimming inside. The contents of the cup are then to be poured into the bowl in front of you that contains a variety of things, but most noticeably, a large piece of pork cheek wrapped in lardo and a beautiful mock egg with tiny mushrooms placed on top.
While this dish was the star of the show last time around, this time we found it lacking. First, the presentation of the dish has diminished. The pork cheek in lardo is just not attractive looking. Think how much presentational care goes into everything else, every other dish today and even every other component of this dish and the pork cheek is anachronistic on the plate. Last time, the pork came cubed in the bowl, now it dominates the bowl (you can see the difference of how this dish looked twelve months prior by clicking here). This takes us to the second point, the balance of the dish has changed. Previously, the broth that you’ve just made in the tea cup from the gold watch was the star of the show. Now, once it’s poured into the bowl it’s lost, the pork cheek dominates because of its physical domination of the plate; that’s a shame. Third, the flavour of the broth just wasn’t so intense. We don’t know if it was deliberately toned down to place greater emphasis elsewhere but this time, the broth was disappointing, as were other ingredients like the pork which similarly lacked flavour. The dish lacked the intensity that made it so brilliant last time and so is one of the few dishes that has evolved into something less than it was.
The Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Heston’s other classic dish, Sound of the Sea, follows. What is so unusual about this dish is the application of hearing to the overall food sensation achieved through providing an iPod in a conch shell that arrives at the table with the food with a recording of, you guessed it, sounds of the sea. It’s like you’re invited to reminisce about childhood holidays of sitting on the sea front eating fish (and chips) with the seagulls squawking overhead and waves lapping onto a shingle beach in front of you.
i-Pod in shell
The serving of this dish is also a presentation classic, not a traditional plate as we know it but an open cuboid giving a double decker display opportunity. It starts with a lower layer of actual beach sand with an upper glass layer on which the food is placed: sand (tapioca), fish (yellowtail tuna, halibut and mackerel) and the surf (a foam of seaweed and vegetable stock, and baby eel) nestle together. There’s some seaweed too mixed in and other sea vegetables. It’s like a beautiful beach in miniature.
This dish has evolved and we like the improvements, it simply tastes better. In the early days, they used shellfish but have now moved to cured fish, and while last time the sand and foam added to the appearance of the dish, taste wise, it didn’t work for us. Now the tapioca and foam made real additions to the dish and even when the fish had gone I found myself hoovering up what was left of the sand and sea, destroyer of worlds.
Drinkwise, we were lucky enough to try a Krug Clos de Mensil 1996 which is from a single walled vineyard in the Krug estate and produces champagne only in the years when the harvest is good enough. Here the notes were pineapple and apricot in a remarkably different expression to the other Krug varieties we were served that night.
This dish has evolved and we like the improvements, it simply tastes better. In the early days, they used shellfish but have now moved to cured fish, and while last time the sand and foam added to the appearance of the dish, taste wise, it didn’t work for us. Now the tapioca and foam made real additions to the dish and even when the fish had gone I found myself hoovering up what was left of the sand and sea, destroyer of worlds.
Drinkwise, we were lucky enough to try a Krug Clos de Mensil 1996 which is from a single walled vineyard in the Krug estate and produces champagne only in the years when the harvest is good enough. Here the notes were pineapple and apricot in a remarkably different expression to the other Krug varieties we were served that night.
Sounds of the Sea
Staying with fishy friends, we are then served Salmon Poached in Liquorice with artichoke, vanilla mayonnaise and golden trout roe (washed down with Krug Rose). Last time around, we had found the liquorice was so far the predominant flavour that the salmon was virtually redundant and it was our least favourite dish. With it still on the current tasting menu, we’re interested to see if it’s changed. It still looks the same, a dark brown chocolatey piece of salmon by appearance but the liquorice is toned down substantially and the salmon comes through. Even so, we’re not sure exactly what Heston is trying to show off with this dish and it’s still not in our top dish pick. We do love the golden trout roe and would have been more than happy with a bowl of this as it explodes juice in your mouth when you squash it between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.
Salmon Poached in Liquorice with artichoke, vanilla mayonnaise and golden trout roe
Another of Heston’s feast dishes next: Powdered Anjou Pigeon, blood pudding, potted umbles, spelt and pickles. The menu dates this dish as c1720. According to the 1893 text of Samuel Pepys diary, umbles are the liver, kidneys and other portions of the inside of a deer though here, it’s pigeon offal all the way. Spelt meanwhile is a type of ancient wheat and sits atop the umbles in a separate bowl to the plated pigeon.
Powdered Anjou Pigeon, blood pudding, potted umbles, spelt and pickles
Trying to pair champagne with this is a bit of a fool’s errand as nothing produced from a chardonnay grape is going to stand up to blood pudding: a good Bordeaux would have been better paired but that’s by the by. What we liked most about this dish was the umbles which was rich, warm and meaty comfort food as long as you didn’t think about what you were eating – pigeon offal. The puffed spelt meanwhile added a sweet crunch to the soft mushy texture of the umbles.
And while this dish is called powdered pigeon leading to believe that you will literally get a powder of pigeon, that’s not the case, you get served a full pigeon breast. Powdered rather is a old cooking term that refers to a specific preparation method. The pigeon breast also comes with a pigeon foam and pigeon crackers.
And while this dish is called powdered pigeon leading to believe that you will literally get a powder of pigeon, that’s not the case, you get served a full pigeon breast. Powdered rather is a old cooking term that refers to a specific preparation method. The pigeon breast also comes with a pigeon foam and pigeon crackers.
Umbles and spelt
By itself today we have the Hot & Iced Tea. Last time around, this was served as part of the breakfast collection, nitro bacon and egg ice cream, brioche etc with a nice cup of tea. Previously, we loved this dish and were blown away by what he achieved with it.
The tea cup is front of you, it looks like ‘normal’ tea. Take the cup and raise it to your lips: take a good mouthful. In your mouth, it is, at exactly the same time, both hot and cold. At the same time, you are registering both sensations. It’s a real conversation piece and while I think I know how this is done, it is genius nevertheless to pull it off.
The evolution of this item has in our view diminished what was previously perfection. The tea this time around was more viscous and less finely balanced between hot and cold. Before, each sip would be both hot and cold but today, one sip would be predominantly hot (with notes of cold) while the next sip would be predominantly cold (with notes of hot). Previously, each sip was perfectly balanced between both. Maybe this is how he wants the dish to be? It’s still fun though.
The tea cup is front of you, it looks like ‘normal’ tea. Take the cup and raise it to your lips: take a good mouthful. In your mouth, it is, at exactly the same time, both hot and cold. At the same time, you are registering both sensations. It’s a real conversation piece and while I think I know how this is done, it is genius nevertheless to pull it off.
The evolution of this item has in our view diminished what was previously perfection. The tea this time around was more viscous and less finely balanced between hot and cold. Before, each sip would be both hot and cold but today, one sip would be predominantly hot (with notes of cold) while the next sip would be predominantly cold (with notes of hot). Previously, each sip was perfectly balanced between both. Maybe this is how he wants the dish to be? It’s still fun though.
Hot and iced tea
The Taffety Tart (c1660) is another dish that Heston’ is clearly proud of. He recently said that it took a year for it to get on the menu because that’s how long it took them to get it right, especially the ultra thin pastry which is very impressive – we looked out for it especially. We also understand that it is to feature on the Dinner, Mandarin Oriental menu.
All that said, last time we preferred the Black Forest Gateaux (BFG) and wonder if Heston has fallen in love with the Taffety Tart a little too much. Knowing how much work he’s put into this makes us feel a little guilty that we don’t think it’s more special. Technically excellent and for sure beyond the ability of most restaurants to turn out something similar, this is the last real dish of the evening and it is served in the normal way (on a plate), looks normal and is eaten in a normal way with a fork and spoon. If there’s magic here it was done in the kitchen (and certainly kitchen magic is great magic) but for the grand finale, it lacks impact as it sits in front of you, it’s just a better tart.
For note, starting from the plate up you have pastry, caramelised apple, pastry, more apple, pastry fromage blanc (with rose infusion), pastry and a topping apple crumble mix (freeze dried apple, poached apple, crumble, fennel seed, vanilla salt). It is good though and the pastry is really impressive but for those who don’t like flowers in their cooking, the rose can be off putting.
All that said, last time we preferred the Black Forest Gateaux (BFG) and wonder if Heston has fallen in love with the Taffety Tart a little too much. Knowing how much work he’s put into this makes us feel a little guilty that we don’t think it’s more special. Technically excellent and for sure beyond the ability of most restaurants to turn out something similar, this is the last real dish of the evening and it is served in the normal way (on a plate), looks normal and is eaten in a normal way with a fork and spoon. If there’s magic here it was done in the kitchen (and certainly kitchen magic is great magic) but for the grand finale, it lacks impact as it sits in front of you, it’s just a better tart.
For note, starting from the plate up you have pastry, caramelised apple, pastry, more apple, pastry fromage blanc (with rose infusion), pastry and a topping apple crumble mix (freeze dried apple, poached apple, crumble, fennel seed, vanilla salt). It is good though and the pastry is really impressive but for those who don’t like flowers in their cooking, the rose can be off putting.
The Taffety Tart (c1660)
Finally, to ensure you don’t forget The Fat Duck the minute you walk out the door, termed ‘Like a Kid in a Sweetshop’, you receive a goody bag to go of chocs and sweets. Here, some light heartedness returns as you’re never quite sure what you can eat and what you can’t so what the hell, chew on everything and see.
The ‘Coconut Baccy’ comes in a tobacco pouch and has something of the texture of tobacco but is of course edible. In reality, it is candied coconut shreds and tastes nicer than I remember. The apple pie caramel comes with an edible wrapper though don’t confuse the bag it comes in with the wrapper – the bag’s plastic. This soft apple toffee dissolves in your mouth and is very playful.
The ‘Coconut Baccy’ comes in a tobacco pouch and has something of the texture of tobacco but is of course edible. In reality, it is candied coconut shreds and tastes nicer than I remember. The apple pie caramel comes with an edible wrapper though don’t confuse the bag it comes in with the wrapper – the bag’s plastic. This soft apple toffee dissolves in your mouth and is very playful.
Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop
The aerated chocolate with mandarin jelly is a little bit like an Aero base with a jelly top though Heston probably hates that description. Best of all though is the Queen of Hearts playing card. The seal on the ‘envelope’ is also edible but the card itself is exquisite in design, white chocolate, printed differently on each side, and inside the playing card, a berry compote. It is a great little goodie bag to go away with.
The Queen of Hearts
So what’s the verdict on the evening?
Heston Blumenthal is arguably the most important name in British cooking right now and his dishes are now both modern classics and filled with wonder for their food content and table theatre. So while we do not wish to detract from what he has achieved with The Fat Duck, we didn’t enjoy the evening as much as we had hoped we would. The reason is that while some of the dishes have evolved, some better, some worse, we both felt that we had eaten essentially the same meal as before, we had both seen the same theatre before, and second/third time around, it was losing its edge. If this was a murder mystery, we know that it was Professor Plum in the Dining Room with the candlestick. We know that because that’s how it was last time. The mystery has gone.
And it’s not only because we’ve eaten it before either, it’s about progress. The Fat Duck was undoubtedly at the cutting edge of avant garde cuisine in the early and mid part of the ‘naughties’ but with dishes remaining on the menu for literally years, the small evolutions are not enough to keep pace with changes in the leading edge food scene that has happened since then. Because of that, we had more foams in these eight courses than we had in the forty courses at El Bulli because Adria has evolved his menu. We were almost upset at El Bulli that we didn’t get to experience the exploding olive but Adria knew that keeping it on the menu anchored him to the past so it went.
It might sound crazy but in our view, Heston needs to take more risks with his food and his menu!
He needs to take more risks not only because others are catching up (and in the case of Noma overtaking) but because of the growing sense of familiarity we all now have with his food, the outcome of which is a menu that fails to challenge the modern well eaten diner. We leave the restaurant happy enough but not gushing over the meal. Why? Because we gushed last time round, because we discussed it at length last time round, we’ve already pulled it apart. This time round, what more is there to say?
For the first time diner, none of this matters for the magic and surprise are there and The Fat Duck is a remarkable experience that you will never forget. The question becomes, what’s there to bring the diner back again? We’re pretty sure too that Heston doesn’t want The Fat Duck to be thought of as a one trick pony and our viewing of his TV work suggests that he’s as brilliant as he’s commonly held to be. So what’s stopping The Fat Duck drawing on this and innovating brilliant menus season after season? Maybe Heston can’t let go of the past or maybe he’s too much of a perfectionist to take the risk of new dishes to replace trusty work horses. All this is nevertheless speculation on our part.
Our conclusion however is that if The Fat Duck remains static much longer, its relative slide in the world of avant garde cooking will accelerate. The Fat Duck has without doubt secured its place in the history of cooking; can it now move forward and keep that place in the future?
Related links: El Bulli
Related links: Noma
Related links: El Celler de Can Roca
Return to Homepage
Heston Blumenthal is arguably the most important name in British cooking right now and his dishes are now both modern classics and filled with wonder for their food content and table theatre. So while we do not wish to detract from what he has achieved with The Fat Duck, we didn’t enjoy the evening as much as we had hoped we would. The reason is that while some of the dishes have evolved, some better, some worse, we both felt that we had eaten essentially the same meal as before, we had both seen the same theatre before, and second/third time around, it was losing its edge. If this was a murder mystery, we know that it was Professor Plum in the Dining Room with the candlestick. We know that because that’s how it was last time. The mystery has gone.
And it’s not only because we’ve eaten it before either, it’s about progress. The Fat Duck was undoubtedly at the cutting edge of avant garde cuisine in the early and mid part of the ‘naughties’ but with dishes remaining on the menu for literally years, the small evolutions are not enough to keep pace with changes in the leading edge food scene that has happened since then. Because of that, we had more foams in these eight courses than we had in the forty courses at El Bulli because Adria has evolved his menu. We were almost upset at El Bulli that we didn’t get to experience the exploding olive but Adria knew that keeping it on the menu anchored him to the past so it went.
It might sound crazy but in our view, Heston needs to take more risks with his food and his menu!
He needs to take more risks not only because others are catching up (and in the case of Noma overtaking) but because of the growing sense of familiarity we all now have with his food, the outcome of which is a menu that fails to challenge the modern well eaten diner. We leave the restaurant happy enough but not gushing over the meal. Why? Because we gushed last time round, because we discussed it at length last time round, we’ve already pulled it apart. This time round, what more is there to say?
For the first time diner, none of this matters for the magic and surprise are there and The Fat Duck is a remarkable experience that you will never forget. The question becomes, what’s there to bring the diner back again? We’re pretty sure too that Heston doesn’t want The Fat Duck to be thought of as a one trick pony and our viewing of his TV work suggests that he’s as brilliant as he’s commonly held to be. So what’s stopping The Fat Duck drawing on this and innovating brilliant menus season after season? Maybe Heston can’t let go of the past or maybe he’s too much of a perfectionist to take the risk of new dishes to replace trusty work horses. All this is nevertheless speculation on our part.
Our conclusion however is that if The Fat Duck remains static much longer, its relative slide in the world of avant garde cooking will accelerate. The Fat Duck has without doubt secured its place in the history of cooking; can it now move forward and keep that place in the future?
Related links: El Bulli
Related links: Noma
Related links: El Celler de Can Roca
Return to Homepage
