10th June 2007
More like an extravaganza than a meal!
A visit from my lovely sister Alison was all the incentive we needed to arrange lunch at The Fat Duck, currently rated as the 2nd best restaurant in the world. It is located in a small village called Bray, about 40 minutes by train from Central London - a bit of a hike, but worth it to experience the "molecular gastronomy" created by this unassuming looking restaurant with 3 Michelin stars.
This is a hard restaurant to get a table at, it took me a couple of days to get through on the reservation phone line. Reservations are taken up to two months in advance, but good luck trying to get a table on a weekend! I booked about 6 weeks in advance for a Friday lunch. The restaurant is quite unimposing from the outside, we walked past it once or twice whilst looking for it. The inside is simple, with well lit modern art. Nothing too flashy.
Not just a lunch, more like a half day event, our meal took close to 5 hours to complete! We had the Tasting Menu, which consisted of course after course of amazingly created and presented food. We were all very full by the end of the 18 or so courses!! Alex had the matched wines (selected by the sommelier) while Alison and I stuck to just a couple of glasses of wine with our meal.
Everything was branded with 'The Fat Duck', from the little cereal box that the Parsnip chip 'cereal' came in, to the 'Fat Duck Films' container containing the small piece of truffle infused rice paper.
I must admit that some of the food wasn't to my taste. But it wasn't really about the food, it was about being immersed in the surreal experience that is a meal at The Fat Duck. It is more like an extravaganza than a meal.
The waiting staff move about the restaurant as if they have been choreographed. Some courses are prepared at the table, such as the Nitro-Scrambled Egg and Bacon Ice Cream. Others trick your senses, like the Orange Jelly & Beetroot Jelly squares whose flavours are reversed.
Alex and Alison's favourite course was the Snail Porridge with Joselito ham, shaved fennel. It is one of the signature dishes of the restaurant, and lived up to its reputation. My favourite was something a little bit more simple...or so it sounded. The Hot and Cold Tea looked plain enough, just a small glass of weak tea - but bizarrely, one side of the tea was hot and one side was cold, a very strange sensation when you drank it!
The Fat Duck Tasting Menu:
- Nitro-Green Tea and Vodka Lime Mousse
- Orange Jelly & Beetroot Jelly
- Oyster, Passion Fruit Jelly, Lavender
- Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream, Red Cabbage Gaspacho
- Black truffle toast; Truffle film; Truffle and Oak Moss aroma with Jelly of Quail, Langoustine Cream, Parfait of Foie Gras
- Snail Porridge, Joselito ham, shaved fennel
- Roast Foie Gras, almond fluid gel, cherry and chamomile
- Sardine on Toast Sorbet, ballotine of mackerel 'invertebrate', marinated daikon, sea salad
- Salmon Poached with liquorice, artichokes, pink grapefruit, 'Manni' olive oil
- Poached Breast of Anjou Pigeon Pancetta, Pastilla of its leg, pistachio, cocoa, and quatre epices
- Hot and Cold Tea
- Mrs Marshall's Margaret Cornet
- Pine Sherbet Fountain
- Mango and Douglas Fir Puree, bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet and green peppercorn jelly
- Carrot and Orange Tuile, Beetroot Jellies
- Parsnip chip 'cereal' with parsnip milk
- Nitro-Scrambled Egg and Bacon Ice Cream, Pain perdu and tea jelly
- Whisky Wine Gum, Violet Tartlet, Pine chocolate & Mint chocolate
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