Heston Blumenthal is the chef behind Britain’s acclaimed Fat Duck restaurant, a triple-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray in Berkshire that is famed for smoked bacon and egg ice cream, snail porridge and a 18-course tasting menu.
Retailing at almost R3000 The Fat Duck Cookbook aspires to be the emperor among cookbooks, the one to chase all competition out of the kitchen. The latest offerings of Jamie, Nigella and Gordon suddenly seem pithy in comparison.
It is divided into three sections: history (the restaurant’s rise to three Michelin stars), recipes (for example, sardine-on-toast sorbet and chocolate wine) and science (experts talk about synaesthesia).
“It’s a real whopper! It contains Fat Duck dishes down to the milligram. Historically lots of chef’s books leave an ingredient out to keep the recipe guarded but we’ve given all the secrets away,” Blumenthal told timeonline.co.uk
If you are a serious food snob then you better buy this 532p tome of Britian’s greatest chef (no it’s not Jamie). However cooking something from it is a completely different story.
First of all you’ll need a Ph.D on molecular gastronomy and kitchen full of un-kitchen-like equipment like a dehydrator, a cartouche and don’t forget the nitrogen. And then you can try and conjure up…
“Roast Foie Gras ‘Benzaldehyde’/almond fluid gel, cherry, chamomile” and “Mango and Douglas Fir Puree/Bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet, blackcurrant and green peppercorn jelly.”
So it’s safe to say that this book will be more likely be gazed at than cooked from. Its luscious, extravagantly designed pages will for the most part remain unsplattered by drops of scientific jelly and molecular foam.
However considering that a the tasting menu at The Fat Duck is £125 then maybe this book is something of a bargain.
Fancy some smoked bacon and egg ice cream… watch the video!
Would you pay R3000 for a cookbook?