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The Fat Duck 2005


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I can see Heston in floods of tears over that.

after all these years in a kitchen, I would have thought it would become 'just a job'

but not so, spending my time playing not working

www.e-senses.co.uk

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Not one restaurant on this planet can boast that it caters to everyones taste, nor will this ever be the case.

as mentioned at nauseum this award is from a poll of 600 proffessionals, (or at least subscribers to restaurant magazine who could be bothered to respond to the e-mail), plus a few choice peers to the industry. (they might have more varied pollsters but of these I am not aware).

The higher anyone gets in any industry the more people seem to crawl out of the woodwork wanting to see them fall, this is not a food industry issue it is simply human nature.

Lucy cavendish asks what is wrong with mint choc chip ice cream and I have to say "nothing is wrong with it", but Heston is not in this market and similar to Jan Moirs rubbishing of the restaurant last year just after the three stars I have to ask one thing. "why did she agree to go there?", this is not and never will be a restaurant where mainstream food is cooked and critics merely go there to test their quality of cooking and how smooth and velvety they can get their mashed potato, this is the Fat duck and quite simply, just like marmite, you will either like it, or hate it. Lucy should have gone off to her local beefeater and enjoyed her meal finished off with her favourite mint choc chip.

On a more positive note, she writes well and only does complain about the fact that she doesn't like it not the fact that it was badly done unlike the previous reviewer I mentioned.

ah well enough ranting from me

bye

after all these years in a kitchen, I would have thought it would become 'just a job'

but not so, spending my time playing not working

www.e-senses.co.uk

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Lucy should have gone off to her local beefeater and enjoyed her meal finished off with her favourite mint choc chip.

Yes, and she never would have gone all the way to Bray for a beefeater - had she really been served prawn cocktail, steak and mint choc ice cream (as separate courses, that is :biggrin:) she would of course have written a "what is all the fuss about" article. She was only there because the food is sufficiently distinctive, and matched in this artistry by skill of execution, to merit the elevation.

I can't help feeling she is cynically taking a particular journalistic angle (hence the maitre d' cliches, etc.), because if she really felt it was such "food torture" that "nothing will ever again" make her feel better then her experience is so diametrically opposed to mine to be that I find it hard to comprehend.

Edited by adt (log)

Ian

I go to bakeries, all day long.

There's a lack of sweetness in my life...

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Certainly a bit of angle in Ms Cavendish's review, but I wouldn't say questioning the overwhelmingly pro-Fat Duck opinion equates with wanting to see Heston fall.

I have no doubt that Heston is a great chef, but, even after tasting his food myself (x2) I cannot be convinced that much of it tastes terribly nice. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a meal to conform to your own criteria (for me, to taste nice), but I do think it's unreasonable to be expected to blame yourself if you don't like it.

As alexw says, 'Not one restaurant on this planet can boast that it caters to everyones taste', so what's the problem with not liking the Fat Duck? I get the feeling that it is somehow beyond criticism, as if criticism were a bad thing.

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That is low Ms Cavendish, very low.

At the end of the piece she asks sniffily if children ever go there. The answer is yes and she should know: when she was editor of OFM she agreed to send me there with three two year olds (including my own) for what became a cover story.

Bloody journalists, eh.

Jay

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That is low Ms Cavendish, very low.

At the end of the piece she asks sniffily if children ever go there. The answer is yes and she should know: when she was editor of OFM she agreed to send me there with three two year olds (including my own) for what became a cover story.

Bloody journalists, eh.

What are we saying here; that she liked it, but has said that she didn't?

Isn't it possible that she had not liked it the first time, but said that she did?

:huh:

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Isn't it possible that she had not liked it the first time, but said that she did?

Well, she only says that "once I have scoffed the lot, I tell him it is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted". Maybe she is just a compulsive liar...

Ian

I go to bakeries, all day long.

There's a lack of sweetness in my life...

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Isn't it possible that she had not liked it the first time, but said that she did?

Well, she only says that "once I have scoffed the lot, I tell him it is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted". Maybe she is just a compulsive liar...

Why is it that only people critical of the Fat Duck have their motives questioned? Should everyone who says it's the best restaurant in the world be accused of shilling?

Personally, I think that "challenging assumptions about the way we eat" and MG are bullshit, and I think it's supreme arrogance to imply that every that went before (or isn't) MG was or is somehow faulty; Heston and Peter Barham haven't consigned 30,000 of food history to the scrapheap just yet. However, I'm quite glad that Heston works in the food industry, because if he worked in footwear or aeronautics, we'd have shoes without soles and aeroplanes that couldn't fly.

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Should everyone who says it's the best restaurant in the world be accused of shilling?

If a year ago they were saying it was the worst restaurant in the world, certainly. :wink:

Although I wouldn't take Ms Cavendish's "ambivalence" too seriously, I'm very interested by the polarised views on this forum. I genuinely thought that even some more outlandish and oft-criticised combinations, such as cauliflower and chocolate, really did taste terribly nice. Of course, the clever construction and general novelty was appealing, but that only lasts for the first couple of mouthfuls - I could happily have eaten another bowl for the sheer pleasure of the flavours.

The myriad courses - tiny servings approach does of course make this claim easier; even doubling the quantity for most courses wouldn't lead to an overwhelming portion of novelty to chew through.

I wonder whether reaction to excessive flavour intensity has a part to play. There is arguably a lack of subtlety in the dish cited - the risotto is pretty heavily salted, and the cocoa and the chocolate jelly inevitably very intense. I don't know if it's an old chestunt on these forums, but the reaction of someone nearer the 'super-taster' end of the scale could be quite different from someone at the other end (plenty about this on the web, e.g. this pop-science BBC news article).

Ian

I go to bakeries, all day long.

There's a lack of sweetness in my life...

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Its always polarised opinion, i went full of excitement, i can see exactly where heston is coming from but found it interesting scientifically but poor delicousness wise, which at the end of the day is why i go out.

i found the contrasts left me with a sensation akin to travel sickness.

try the blog www.gastroville.com for an interesting view on the fat duck from someone i believe has better tastebuds than most!

cheers

gary

Edited by Gary Marshall (log)

you don't win friends with salad

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The gastroville review is very interesting, and goes into a delightful level of detail about the food for once. The comment about the excessive flavour of the passion fruit jelly is pertinent. I found that this, and in particular the strength of the horseradish, completely overwhelmed the oyster. I enjoyed it none-the-less, but one was certainly enough.

Thinking about the BBC article and Heston's scientific bent, perhaps he could administer the taste bud test to his guests when they arrive, and then calibrate their meals accordingly. :biggrin:

Ian

I go to bakeries, all day long.

There's a lack of sweetness in my life...

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Why is it that only people critical of the Fat Duck have their motives questioned? Should everyone who says it's the best restaurant in the world be accused of shilling?

Personally, I think that "challenging assumptions about the way we eat" and MG are bullshit, and I think it's supreme arrogance to imply that every that went before (or isn't) MG was or is somehow faulty; Heston and Peter Barham haven't consigned 30,000 of food history to the scrapheap just yet. However, I'm quite glad that Heston works in the food industry, because if he worked in footwear or aeronautics, we'd have shoes without soles and aeroplanes that couldn't fly.

Don't you think it's a good thing we have someone trying something new, not assuming techniques and actually questioning why things are done the way they are done and could they be done better another way.

If we didn't have people pushing boundaries we'd never progress and go stale.

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Although I wouldn't take Ms Cavendish's "ambivalence" too seriously, I'm very interested by the polarised views on this forum.

I think it's a good thing. I'm only sceptical because my Fat Duck experience didn't live up to the scientific promises. Although there's plenty to praise about the place, especially the a la carte, I can't help feeling that the science is inappropriate if it can't overcome the fundamental hurdle of making food taste nice. The Snail Porridge, and the Salmon & Licorice dishes are two examples of things that didn't taste half as bad as they sounded, but that should have tasted a darn site better to merit a place on a three star menu. If there really were something to MG then you'd think that all the new possibilities that it opened up would include lots of delicious food. I found the tasting menu to be in equal parts cerebrally interesting, delicious, and fairly unpleasant. Hardly bears out the theory, does it? Especially, when you consider l'Ambrosie, which has no theoretical underpinning and imho is uniformly exquisite.

Heston is no doubt capable of great things, but I think he would benefit from a bit of constructive criticism instead of being constantly slobbered over. Right now, I don't think that criticism exists, why, I don't know, but Heston seems to lead the critics rather than the other way around.

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A few things which interested me on that Lucy Cavendish review.

The bits about childrens menus, and kids food seemed slightly at odds with Heston's family food book don't you think?

Mint choc chip was an interesting comparison, when you think of it that's a fairly avant-garde combination (I've only ever tried 'cheap' mint choc chip, something more intensely minty, with good quality chocolate could be worth trying)

I love animals.

They are delicious.

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try the blog  www.gastroville.com for an interesting view on the fat duck from someone i believe has better tastebuds than most!

Yes, very interesting. Wasn't very happy about the dried morels was he! I'm sure Blumenthal will be very grateful for the tips on his menu and how to be a better chef. Perhaps Mikael could spend some time at the Fat Duck and show Heston a few things.

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try the blog  www.gastroville.com for an interesting view on the fat duck from someone i believe has better tastebuds than most!

Yes, very interesting. Wasn't very happy about the dried morels was he! I'm sure Blumenthal will be very grateful for the tips on his menu and how to be a better chef. Perhaps Mikael could spend some time at the Fat Duck and show Heston a few things.

Only somebody who runs out of intelligent argument to make can write such a sarcastic post.

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Only somebody who runs out of intelligent argument to make can write such a sarcastic post.

The lowest form of wit I admit, but my comments were a reaction to what is a rather hubristic review. No offence was intended and I'd be happy to engage in as an intelligent an arguement as I can manage with Mikael or yourself.

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Only somebody who runs out of intelligent argument to make can write such a sarcastic post.

The lowest form of wit I admit, but my comments were a reaction to what is a rather hubristic review. No offence was intended and I'd be happy to engage in as an intelligent an arguement as I can manage with Mikael or yourself.

Nobody is perfect(except my daughter :biggrin: ) and you are more than welcome to write your comments in gastroville and please do so . Personally, I have not dined at the Fat Duck so I can not comment. Our only policy is to make sure that nobody attacks anybody's integrity and dignity.

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