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The Fat Duck, High Street, Bray, Berkshire, SL2 2AQ

The Fat Duck, High Street, Bray, Berkshire, SL2 2AQ

High Street, Bray, Berkshire, SL2 2AQ

01628 580333

(1) I know that this place has already been well reviewed here, but having just eaten there I had to add my bit? I've been reading Heston Blumenthal?s extraordinary cookery columns in the Saturday Guardian for some time and was itching to eat in his restaurant. All I needed was an excuse, and what better than Mrs Fat Bob's birthday?

We chose the tasting menu at 75 quid with the sommelier's recommended wines (one for each course plus an aperitif) for another 40 quid. Although we knew we were in for a treat nothing prepared us for what came. Rather than the five courses we were expecting we got fourteen. OK some of them were only a tablespoon full, but they were all memorable and distinctive. To start the palate cleanser was egg white with lime and green tea dropped in to liquid nitrogen (at the table) and then eaten whole and semi frozen, followed by oyster in passion fruit and lavender and then mustard ice cream with red cabbage gazpacho. And we still hadn't had the first course.

There is no doubt that Mr Blumenthal is a sensualist. This was the sexiest food we have ever eaten. The "main" course of anjou pigeon or sea bass simply melted in the mouth, the cauliflower puree with scallop merely dissolved on the tongue, the cauliflower risotto was half rice pudding, half drinking chocolate. And the final chocolate delice with space dust was the most wonderful surprise. Other between course treats included caviar on white chocolate, parsnip cornflakes in parsnip milk (complete with Kellog's Variety style packaging), a red pepper lollypop and a very post modern take on the sherbet dib-dab. The tobacco chocolate and bacon wafer with the coffee was the icing on the cake. .
Truly an awesome gastronomic experience, everyone should go at least once. But be warned, to eat at the Fat Duck you need a fat wallet. Fat Bob

(2) Heston Blumenthal, the Michelin chef and main man behind The Fat Duck, recently gave a lecture entitled Food Feeding and ME (Masticatory Efficiency). I don't know what that means but if you've read what he has to say in the Observer, you might wonder what his restaurant would be like. I did, so I went.

First up, it is pricey. Even if you only have one, half decent bottle of wine, you'll still be looking at a hundred pounds or more per head. The restaurant itself is in the village of Bray, near Maidenhead and is a comfortable environment. Lots of glass, including some of the plates which look spectacular, not overly spacious with its low ceiling but you don't feel cramped either. One of the best things about going to expensive restaurants is the service you can expect to receive. Professional waiting staff who know the menu inside out, can tell you about every dish, make recommendations for food or wine (the wine list is an impressive 60 pages) and tell you about the overall style of the place; where the ingredients come from and the like. It also helps that they make themselves available but are never intrusive or pushy.

Then of course, there is the food. Blimey. Some would say the concoctions on offer are eclectic, eccentric or insane. I've wracked my brains but haven't quite come up with a fitting description. Certainly, the majority of items on the menu you will never have had before. Yer man Blumenthal no doubt has his reasons, perhaps to educate or challenge the palette of the
diners. I am totally in favour of new and exciting culinary experiences and I have to say, he knows his stuff. As unlikely as some of the combinations are, they do work. The best end of pork was delicious but it came with a type of mushroom macaroni cheese in a little pan and was probably the most "normal" dish. For dessert, to say I had had it as much as anything, I went for the smoked bacon and egg ice cream, pain perdu and tomato jam with caramelised morels and sweet jellied tea. And it did taste like egg and bacon ice cream. Very odd, not to everyone's taste I would imagine but I liked it. Throughout the meal, you are brought a series of dishes, all of which adhering to the same principles but sadly I didn't catch exactly what they were apart from the foamy palette cleanser. A lovely meal but I would probably only return if someone else was paying. Approved. King Mob


www.fatduck.co.uk