Heston's Bio

[Andy Lynes]

Heston Blumenthal is a totally self-taught chef. His passion for food was kindled at the age of 10 by a family visit to Provence and as a teenager he started to experiment in the kitchen. As a young adult he spent his holidays on gastronomic pilgrimages to France and his nights were dedicated to his twin obsessions, kick boxing and cooking.

In 1995, aged 29, he opened The Fat Duck in Bray which has received many very favourable reviews and guidebook recommendations. The Michelin Guide awarded The Fat Duck its first star in 1999, and a second star in 2002. The Good Food Guide voted Heston "Chef of the Year" in 2001 (and he retains an 8/10 score in the 2003 edition). The AA Guide 2002 voted The Fat Duck “Restaurant of the Year” and Heston ‘Chef of The Year” in 2002, along with 5 rosettes.

Heston opened his second restaurant, The Riverside Brasserie, in Bray in November 2001, with business partners Lee Dixon, Alfred Hitchcok, Nigel Sutcliffe and Garrey Dawson (his sous chef).

Heston's style marries the French bourgeois tradition with experimentation born of boundless curiosity e.g. cod with cockscombs and liquorice, foie gras with marinated salmon and cuttlefish cannelloni of duck and maple syrup. His recipes can be seen weekly in the Guardian Magazine on Saturdays.

Penguin will publish his first book, Family Food, in November 2002.

Heston's TV series Kitchen Chemistry, aired on the Discovery Channel in August 2002. This series looks at the latest scientific research on food.

He has been profiled by a number of publications including Caterer & Hotelkeeper and The Independent. Recently broadcast by BBC Radio 4, Kitchen Cornucopia was a three part series presented by Heston. He has also appeared on the new BBC show Ever Wondered.