There are many award-winning restaurants in the world that serve a truly authentic experience rather than a delicious meal. And The Fat Duck Restaurant, hidden away around 40 minutes outside London in the village of Bray is one of them. One of Britain’s most sought-after places to eat, The Fat Duck Restaurant is an internationally claimed multi-award winning, 3 Michelin starred restaurant, ideal for those who truly want to surprise their taste buds and have a dining experience of a lifetime.
Opened in 1995 by self-taught chef Heston Blumenthal’s unusual fascination with the science of flavors and cooking, The Fat Duck Restaurant soon became very popular among the locals and international travelers alike. The chef initially served classic French bistro cuisine, but an interest in the ‘Psychology of flavor’ led to experimentation and the development of innovative dishes featuring unusual combinations of ingredients and tastes. Today, The Fat Duck offers a unique menu with dishes including salmon in licorice jelly, snail porridge with Joselito ham and toast flavored ice cream to name but a few that have hit the headlines.
Unlike other Michelin-star restaurants that feature beautiful exterior and interior designs, The Fat Duck Restaurant looks like a converted pub or country inn. Housed in a building that is over two hundred years old, the dining room is quite small with low ceilings, simple furnishing, and what concerns the atmosphere and service, The Fat Duck provides relaxing environment and top-not service sure to entice even the most discerning visitors.
The Tasting Menu
The tasting menu at The Fat Duck Restaurant is a sequence of dishes, each served about the same size and at approximately the same intervals, to not only capture an exciting range of flavors, but also bring multisensory appeal and a sense of theater to the dining experience. The menu can be updated for most dietary requirement, so make sure to notify the reservations department of any special requests upon making reservation.
Some of the highlights of the menu include:
Nitro-poached Green Tea & Lime Mousse
This is an amazing start to you meal. A server will approach your table with a cart, on it a container, a vat of liquid nitrogen, a pressurized canister of egg whites and a bag full of flavorings. The liquid nitrogen was poured into the container and then some of the egg white was shot into the nitrogen. And after the extreme cold turns the egg into a mousse, it’s placed on your plate and the flavoring of green tea and lime is dabbed on. Sounds very interesting, doesn’t it?
Mustard Ice Cream & Red Cabbage Gazpacho
One of the first appetizers at The Fat Duck Restaurant is the savory Mustard Ice-cream served with a tiny spoonful of red cabbage gazpacho. Red cabbage gazpacho is prepared by juicing red cabbage and adding bread.
Snail Porridge
In essence it is just snails with garlic and parsley butter, as well as Joselito ham and shaved fennel. The snail meat is served very simply on top of bright green porridge or sauce and many say it’s actually very tasty. Snail porridge is a prime example of the restaurant’s multi-sensory relationship to food, with sounds, color, smell and even words contributing to the chef’s perfection of food.
Roast Foie Gras
One of the best dishes people always appreciate while having dinner at The Fat Duck is the roast foie gras, presented very artfully as you can see in the picture. The tiny jelly squares may have been the chamomile listed on the menu, while the white swirl is probably the almond.
Note that menu prices start from £180 per person for both Lunch and Dinner, plus an optional 12.5% service charge will be added to the bill.
Listen to waves crashing on the beach on an iPod as you eat ‘Sound of the Sea’ and savor the earthy aroma of oak moss while you enjoy quail jelly with ice cream of langoustine and parfait of foie gras. Many say that dining here is ‘like a journey through Alice in Wonderland.’
Save money to plan a dinner at The Fat Duck Restaurant that with its scientific approach to gastronomy and cooking has been highly influential in the molecular gastronomy movements!