Other chefs imitating the Fat Duck

[Jonathan Day]

I recently had dinner at Midsummer House in Cambridge. Whilst the menu was more traditional than those I've enjoyed at the Fat Duck, Daniel Clifford added a number of touches that were reminiscent of yours, most notably the green tea "palate cleanser" to start.

Could you tell us what you think of other chefs imitating or adapting your innovative dishes? Similarly, it would be interesting to understand how free you feel to adopt dishes or techniques developed by other chefs?

[Heston Blumenthal]

Thats an interesting point.

I feel flattered that somewhere along the line, I have done something that influences somebody else.

I think that all chefs in the world adapt, borrow copy or take influence from be it another chef, classical (in some cases very historic) recipes, or any other source of inspiration.

The trouble is that if that chef is listing a lemon tart, tart tatin or Tournedos Rossini on his or her menu, there is no problem. If however, the dish falls in to the category of something less recognisable then there could be a problem.

It would then be considerd that, the fewer the comparisons availabel, the more likely it would be that the dish would be a direct copy

For example, is it wrong to put an upside down apple tart on the menu that was invented over one hundred years ago (by the Tatin sisters)

Another interesting example is that of savoury ice creams.

Now these are not new at all. Far from it, my friend Robin Weir who has writtten a couple of fantastic books, including one called Ices lists a Sicillian recipe some three hundred years old for Parmesan Ice cream and the Victorians made a lot of savoury ices.

As with many things, it sometimes becomes difficult to assertain where some dishes originated from.

For example, we have been serving tobacco chocolates for a coupel of years now.

I got the idea from going to a cigar shop in Marlow and, having seen a row of glass jars containing tobacco, asked to smell them. They were flavoured with cherry, peach, christmas pudding and many others.

There was a chocolate one which I smelt and loved. I then sinply reversed the flavour and instead of chocolate flavoured tobacco, made tobacco flavoured chocolates!

In some parts of South America however, tobacco has been used in cooking for years.

Closer to home, on a personal front, of course I, like many other chefs have been influenced by chefs and historical dishes.

I do feel that as a chef however, you only really start to feel relaxed when a style of cooking develops that you can call your own

Parameters need to be set out along with a collection of principles and beliefs.

I think that it has only been in the last few months that this is starting to happen with my cooking and hope that, by the end of the year I have firmly laid down a style of cooking that I can really call my own.

I hope this answers your question