In a culinary world full of posturing super-chefs and competing
egos, there is something particularly refreshing about Heston
Blumenthal.
Not only do his contemporaries not have a bad word to say about
him increasingly rare in the testosterone-fuelled UK
restaurant scene but his enthusiasm, inquisitiveness
and flair have proved infectious far beyond the lofty realms
of fine dining.
The man initially made famous by outwardly madcap concoctions
such as snail porridge and bacon and egg ice
cream is now something of a budding national treasure;
instilling in a wider public consciousness ideas about foods
ability to evoke memory, emotion and fun.
As the figurehead behind one of only four three-star Michelin
restaurants in the UK, nobody can doubt his credentials. The
fact that he has established this profile while limiting his
interests to two restaurants within the idyllic locality of
Bray, a village 25 miles outside the capital, has only strengthened
the impression of a man who shuns the glitzy world of Michelin
empire building in favour of a more personal journey.
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Its a great example of something inspired by history
but resolutely now, creating a piece of kit that looks ancient
but never actually existed.
Theres a wonderland element there and thats something
Im keen to create.
Another dish, meat fruit, was prompted by conversations
with historians at Hampton Court Palace. Originally served by
the Tudors in the 16th Century, balls of minced pork and veal
were cooked on a spit, covered in savoury parsley custard and
presented in the form of apples. Typically, Blumenthal has introduced
a very personal twist with an irreverent wink at his new surroundings.
Weve managed to create mandarins, he exclaims.
Its a chicken liver parfait with a few other components,
covered in mandarin jelly.
Its even got the dimples and leaf sticking out
look at it from six inches away and you wouldnt know the
difference. What Id like is that you order a fruit
bowl and it arrives at the table as such. Again, weve
been inspired by an old recipe but have moved the idea along.
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olive oil was commonly used, for example, or anchovies. I didnt
want to lose that authenticity.
Ensuring such authenticity has seen Blumenthal employ a former
Penguin Books editor as researcher and archivist, spending her
days at the British Library unearthing lost treasures of culinary
history. Helping transform them into restaurant dishes is Ashley
Palmer Watts. He has been with Blumenthal for over decade, most
recently as executive head chef at the Fat Duck, and will lead
the brigade at the Mandarin Oriental while it finds its feet.
He has long been my eyes and ears, Blumenthal reveals.
Ash will walk through the dining room and spot exactly
the same things that need changing as I would.
Id not have been nearly as keen taking on this project
without him. Weve been working on recipes together for
the past few months and the plan is that he starts off in the
kitchen full time until we establish a day-to-day operating
team and head chef.
Menu development continues apace, with 25 or so dishes already
confirmed.
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But now Blumenthal is coming to London. And not just London,
but Mayfair, the epicentre of the capitals fine dining
scene, installed in one of the citys most prestigious
addresses: the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
The venture certainly boasts all the culinary fireworks and
flights of fancy with which the 43 year old has become synonymous.
Although he says the food will be pitched somewhere between
the Fat Duck and his gastropub the Hinds Head,
early indicators are that it will borrow as much from his recent
television series, Hestons Feast, in which he undertook
a culinary journey through Victorian Britain, Tudor England
and Ancient Rome, giving forgotten dishes a thoroughly modern
twist.
Its an entirely new concept but it sits within
the realms of what Ive been doing for the last few years,
he explains. Were talking a smart brasserie with
130-odd covers inspired by historic British recipes. My name
will be attached by Heston Blumenthal
and the dishes were working on at the moment are certainly
of a Michelin-star level, but it will in no way be a Fat Duck
clone.
As he describes those dishes it soon becomes clear that one
will be unable to find an equivalent restaurant anywhere else
in the world.
Despite the popular perception of Blumenthal as an ultra modern
ambassador for molecular gastronomy, the themes
underpinning his
food have always drawn on our historical and scientific heritage
and focus on the emotional as much as the technical.
Ive already got ideas for afternoon tea, although
there might be some cost and feasibility issues, he chuckles
excitedly. Just across the park is the Royal Institution,
where Mrs Marshall first suggested using liquid nitrogen to
make ice cream and James Dewar invented the Dewar flask for
its storage. Ive been thinking about converting an old
sewing table, attaching a foot pedal to a mixing bowl and, following
her recipe from 1905, making and serving ice cream right there
in the dining room.
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Blumenthal is also keen to stress that less adventurous diners
will still be able to get a great rib of beef or steak and chips
perhaps served with an 18th Century mushroom ketchup
but the overall concept feels like a screaming departure
from the rather staid world of five-star Mayfair dining. The
only danger is that some diners, critics and rivals might interpret
it as a little gimmicky.
Ive always been aware of that danger and it was
something I addressed with the designer at the very beginning,
Blumenthal reveals. The last thing we wanted was mock-something
like those dodgy salesman lunch venues where its
all slap and tickle with flagons of ale and women dressed up
as wenches. The actual room is thoroughly modern with a few
exciting nods to the past.
Were entering a part of London with fantastic restaurants:
Marcus [Wareing] is bang opposite, Pascal [Proyart] is cooking
at the Sheraton, Zuma is just round the corner, Gordon Ramsays
new Petrus has recently opened.
This entire project has been taken extremely seriously and
Im under no illusions that I can just swing into town,
put my name above the door and everything will fall into place.
Getting the pitch right has been paramount.
He may have taken his time arriving, but Blumenthal is clearly
a fan of the capitals dining scene and, with the benefit
of hindsight, it seems far more appropriate that his first venture
beyond Bray should be overlooking Hyde Park rather than downtown
Tokyo the proposed location of an aborted joint-venture
with Mandarin a few years ago. Although the hypercontemporary
nature of his food might suggest otherwise, he has always been
a thoroughly British chef.
My food is rooted in British culinary culture and is
proud to be so, he begins. Weve never publicised
the fact, but only one piece of seafood in my restaurant doesnt
come from British waters. Other than the pigeon and foie gras,
all our meat is sourced within the UK. I did consider using
100% British produce for this venture, but that would have meant
not staying true to the original recipes. There were periods
in history when
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Id like to have 50 or so savoury dishes in our
repertoire by the time of opening, he explains. The
menu will be something like ten starters and ten mains, but
well have enough in our locker to revise 25%-30% with
each menu change.
Ideally that would be an entire year of menus and then the
process is ongoing, getting a model together that gives the
resident head chef systems to work within but also leaves room
for the kitchen to undertake development themselves.
The unconstrained glee with which he discusses that development
process suggests the menu will not be lacking in new ideas come
December. While its inspiration may borrow from the past, one
is left with the feeling that the future of London dining is
about to be altered quite dramatically.
A FRIEND FOR THE FAT DUCK
Any fears that a move to the big city might see Blumenthal
take his eye off events in Bray have been swept aside by the
latest addition to the chefs budding empire, an unprepossessing
pub within a stones throw of the Fat Ducks front
door.
The chef is still unsure as to what he will do with the property,
but has emphasised that he would like his new purchase, The
Crown, to retain its standing as a favoured local
within the village.
Blumenthal already owns the Hinds Head in Bray, a top-end
gastropub that has received rave reviews since
its launch six years ago, focusing on traditional British
delicacies rather than molecular gastronomy.
Weve kept the bar at the Hinds Head but the place
has become a bit of a culinary destination, and the Crown
has become the local, Blumenthal explained upon announcing
the deal.
I might do a steak bar, but good meat is so expensive,
I dont know if the prices would be right. I just havent
made up my mind what to do yet, though Im not going
to turn it into Brays first lap-dancing bar or anything
like that. I just want it to be the local pub.
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