The Fat Duck

The Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. The restaurant is known for its menu of unusual dishes, created following the principles of molecular gastronomy: examples include "snail porridge", "sardine on toast sorbet", "bacon and egg ice cream", and "salmon poached with liquorice".

Style

At The Fat Duck, Blumenthal exploits psychology, experimenting with the diners' perception. Among the starters in the restaurant's tasting menu is a "jelly of orange and beetroot", a serving of two separate jellies, where the red has been made using blood oranges, and the orange from paprika beetroots.

Food scare, closure, and reopening

On 27 February 2009, Blumenthal closed his restaurant temporarily after a number of customers reported feeling unwell at different times. By 3 March the source of the outbreak was still unclear but sabotage had been ruled out. A spokesman for the restaurant said "All this leads us to believe that it [the health scare] has not come from the restaurant and we expect to be given the all clear."On 6 March it was reported that 400 people had stated they had felt unwell after eating at the restaurant. Boxing promoter Frank Warren said he was "very disappointed" with his treatment after becoming sick following his visit. He said "Everything was fabulous about the evening - the food, the setting, the service, it was unbelievably good but unfortunately, afterwards, all of us were ill".