Fat Duck in Berkshire is World's Best Restaurant

An old piece of wisdom handed to a young American about to visit England for the first time noted that, among the many enjoyable things about England, dining is not one of them. Time have changed, though. And the next time one visits Bray, Berkshire just west of London, it might be worth a stop at a place called the Fat Duck. It is, according to a jury of more than 500 chefs and other cognoscenti, the best restaurant in the world.

There will always be those who carp about such lists, and this award is no different. With 14 of the top 50 restaurants in the world located in the UK, it is a bit hard to accept it in full. And inevitably, there is some bias according to cuisine (French good, French Canadian not so good?). But a closer look at the Fat Duck may make a trip to darkest Berkshire worthwhile.

Chef Heston Blumenthal's place finished second last year, and earlier this week, he knocked Yountville, California's The French Laundry out of first. Mr. Blumenthal, who jokes that he was named after the worst dining experience in the world (the Heston service station on the M4 motorway), is credited by Restaurant magazine's jury with "pushing the boundaries and pushing food in a new direction." At the same time, Joe Warwick, the associate editor of the magazine, also said, "There are a lot of people who don't like the food Heston is doing."

Since taste doesn't come across well on the Internet, a look at the menu is the best one can do. From the a la carte menu, three courses at L67.50, once can start with crab biscuit, followed by a saddle of venison and topped off with vanilla ice cream. But that is probably not the dinner that has raised eyebrows. The same menu also offers a cauliflower risotto that comes with a "chocolate jelly," a poached sea bass that has Borlotti beans with rosemary and vanilla on the side, and smoked bacon and egg ice cream for dessert. No, that is not a typographical error -- the ice cream tastes of breakfast.

Mr. Blumenthal explains, "I like to experiment with different tastes and flavors of sweet and savory and show that they know no boundaries. People expect ice cream to be sweet, but the Victorians ate it savory. Cucumber ice, for example, with fresh cucumber was common as a starter or deappetizer in a meal. Crab ice cream was also popular and I have a recipe dated 1800 for Parmesan ice cream." One doubts either Ben or Jerry will try to steal it. And evolutionary theory suggests that such dishes have died out for a reason.

It is not just old recipes appeal to Mr. Blumenthal. He has brought new technology to the kitchen as well. His green tea and lime mousse is a palate cleanser, and "to make it really cold, I just dip for 50 seconds in liquid nitrogen. People think nothing of seeing a blow torch with gas flame being used on creme brulee, so I use liquid nitrogen to freeze the outside." Now, the challenge will be to create a version for those on a liquid nitrogen restricted diet.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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