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Jason Purcell | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> Lunch at The Fat Duck Restaurant tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Lunch at The Fat Duck Restaurant

The Fat Duck is a restaurant located in the village of Bray, Berkshire, about an hour’s train ride from London. The restaurant is currently very popular for its success in creating unconventional, often playful food that also just happens to be delicious; so delicious that the restaurant was named “Best Restaurant in the World” by Restaurant magazine in 2005 (see http://www.50bestrestaurants.co.uk/).

I had the opportunity to enjoy a very long lunch at The Fat Duck while on vacation in London with a friend. I had not originally planned on taking photos but after seeing the first 3 dishes, my friend and I decided that both the food and overall experience was picture worthy. I would normally find it difficult to eat food so artistically prepared and carefully presented, but after the first two or three dishes all bets were off. The food was fantastic and the service was excellent. A once in a lifetime experience (for me anyway).
Fat Duck Exterior
Fat Duck Exterior		 The Fat Duck 22 Course Tasting Menu Page 1
The Fat Duck 22 Course Tasting Menu Page 1		 The Fat Duck 22 Course Tasting Menu Page 2
The Fat Duck 22 Course Tasting Menu Page 2
JELLY OF QUAIL, LANGOUSTINE CREAM, PARFAIT OF FOIE GRAS
JELLY OF QUAIL, LANGOUSTINE CREAM, PARFAIT OF FOIE GRAS		 SNAIL PORRIDGE, Jabugo ham, shaved fennel
SNAIL PORRIDGE, Jabugo ham, shaved fennel		 ROAST FOIE GRAS, Almond fluid gel, cherry, and chamomile
ROAST FOIE GRAS, Almond fluid gel, cherry, and chamomile
SARDINE ON TOAST SORBET, Ballotine of mackerel 'invertebrate', marinated daikon
SARDINE ON TOAST SORBET, Ballotine of mackerel 'invertebrate', marinated daikon		 SALMON POACHED WITH LIQUORICE, Asparagus, pink grapefruit, 'Manni' olive oil
SALMON POACHED WITH LIQUORICE, Asparagus, pink grapefruit, 'Manni' olive oil		 POACHED BREAST OF ANJOU PIGEON PANCETTA, Pastilla of its leg, pistachio, cocoa and quatre epices
POACHED BREAST OF ANJOU PIGEON PANCETTA, Pastilla of its leg, pistachio, cocoa and quatre epices
MRS MARSHALL'S MARGARET CORNET
MRS MARSHALL'S MARGARET CORNET		 PINE SHERBET FOUNTAIN
PINE SHERBET FOUNTAIN		 MANGO AND DOUGLAS FIR PUREE, Bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrent sorbet
MANGO AND DOUGLAS FIR PUREE, Bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrent sorbet
CARROT AND ORANGE TUILE
CARROT AND ORANGE TUILE		 BAVAROIS OF BASIL, BEETROOT JELLY
BAVAROIS OF BASIL, BEETROOT JELLY		 FAT DUCK CEREALS
FAT DUCK CEREALS
BIG BOWL, small cereal
BIG BOWL, small cereal		 SMOKED BACON AND EGG ICE CREAM, Pain perdu and tea jelly
SMOKED BACON AND EGG ICE CREAM, Pain perdu and tea jelly		 PRALINE ROSE TARTLET, PINE CHOCOLATES
PRALINE ROSE TARTLET, PINE CHOCOLATES

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Themba 13-Apr-2014 15:18
Out standing menu cant wait to go there as a true foodie and a Chef. Presetation is out of this world.
Hungry for Heston 17-May-2012 11:04
Negative commentators: WTF are you even doing here? Go suck the life out of a different thread. You're annoying.
doris 20-Dec-2011 18:37
Actually Pablo the whole menu can be made vegetarian, and the dishes are still the same, but obviously minus meat. For instance the snail porridge comes sans snails and ham. The foi gras is replaced by mushroom etc. So a veggie diner still gets the same number of courses as a meat eater.
Ryan Pablo 08-Jul-2011 21:03
Being a vegetarian there isnt a great deal on Hestons (fantastic) menu that I would eat, but what cannot be faulted is the attention to detail in every dish.
Negative comments come from bumpkins that are used to eating rabbit they shot that very morning, and by all means you carry on and do that, but to slander such food wizardry is foolish.
Hesty works his ass off, and I tilt my hat to him.
Donna 29-Jun-2010 20:26
I have a table booked for Friday and I am really excited and not one negative comment has put me of at all. Heston is a genius and I am looking forward to this once in a lifetime experience. I am a very fussy eater but I am willing to give it ago. I won't get a second chance thats for sure! Really excited!!!
kate 28-Apr-2010 11:58
ate there on saturday night amazing food wonderful service and a great atmosphere cant wait for a menu change so we can go again!!!
Sean T 20-Apr-2010 21:13
To the negative comments.... Does it matter how much it costs? does it matter as to the portion size? It's the dining experience and the quality that matters.... the service, the taste, the atmosphere. We can all go to Spain for a holliday, but wouldn't you like to to Goa or Mauritius? Its all about choice...
borisalex26-Oct-2009 16:31
Congratulations on this fine gallery of outstanding food creations. Very well photographed! Reading the menus, with the wine selection for the various courses, makes me believe, that these guys know what they are doing!
NB 10-Aug-2009 12:33
Just looking to book at the Fat Duck for a special birthday dinner - found your pictures really exciting and helpful. Find it really said that there are people who have been so negative. I guess they have never been and therefore have no right to comment. You do not have too go to the Fat Duck , you do not have to pay £130+ for a meal .

These are the same people who think "Mordern Art" is something a 3 year old could do and opera is just a fat lady screaching. They are of course entitled to that opinion but do not then insult those who think differently.

As for the the cost of this meal could feed a family for a year comment - I do not debate that it could - but so could £40 a month on Sky subscriptions or the £500 spent on a week in the sun or the £200 purchase of yet another games console - we all choose to spend our "disposable" income as we see fit - you can not play the "How can you spend £130 on dinner when there are starving people" card unless you can stand on the moral high ground of not spending any money on "non essential" items yourself.
Guest 22-Jul-2009 16:49
Yet another specimen of post modern crap, in a world where we can't eat goose liver, light a cigar or watch a bullfight.
let's hope that the talibans win.
M 20-Jul-2009 14:20
And guess what Helen... no-one cares!! Food at places like the Fat Duck is meant to spoil and be extravagant - no one thinks about starving people when enjoying possibly the finest food in the country - save your preaching for another time
Helen 15-Jul-2009 11:54
There are many people dying of starvation who could probably eat for about 10 years for the amount it costs for a meal at the fat duck
steve 01-May-2009 05:19
Sssshhhh...I'll let you in on a couple of secrets:
1. The Emperor ain't wearin' any clothes and...
2. 100 pounds for two bites of pink mousse is a rip-off.
Bron 18-Mar-2009 14:44
WE ate there last night and it was the best meal of my life - and I ain't young! Great photos - not the same as being there - but lovely as a reminder.
Chris 15-Mar-2009 03:46
Of course getting sick and paying over 100 pounds for the pleasure is another treat that has been awaiting patrons at this restaurant recently.
m 09-Jan-2009 18:58
The upside is that the sort of people who type negative comments here will never disturb the dining experience waiting for the rest of us at The Fat Duck or other restaurants like it around the world.

Imagine being surrounded by people who relish challenging and creative confrontations to conservative conventions... (*tee hee... I didn't set out to alliterate, it just happened!*).

Better still, imagine being surrounded people who savor each precious bite and don't think of a meal as self-gorging time. Fourteen (or more!) courses eaten slowly is adequately filling. Those who inhale puddings and fries wouldn't know this, but a stomach takes at least 1/2 and hour process and send a signal to the brain saying: "Okay, stop eatin; I'm full!" But no no no... most people stuff themselves silly, get all sorts of indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems leading to a reliance on heartburn medication, etc., and -- in the process -- get their bodies accustomed to the weight of too much food, thereby creating a vicious cycle that leads to cholesterol and heart disease, diabetes, and a pile of other food-related illnesses.

Anyone who wants to stuff themselves with the same old thing and continue stumbling through an exciting world with a blindfold of boredom covering their eyes is more than welcome. They might find this cuisine pretentious, but I find them sadly lacking that certain joie de vivre that makes life worth living.
Guest 01-Oct-2007 22:01
Haha, I love the comments such as "pretencious crap" imagine if the Fat Duck was offering "mushy peas, haddock encased in a crisp batter and deep fried potato chips served in a news paper cone"
for the first time? The same people would be saying "What's wrong with regular fried haddock? Why aren't the peas fresh and the potatoes boiled? How pretncious!" (sic)
Albert 18-Aug-2007 16:56
I think that people who miss the point are those who say things like- "I think I would starve if I had to eat there..." or post comments such as "pretencious crap"- these people are lacking themselves, the character required to delve out of their own thoughts and actually experience something. people like this exist only to co-exist with 'herd and die a sappy unfullfilled, and bitter self serving fool.
Al Sage.
Guest 03-Jul-2007 01:56
Excellant gallery. This makes me feel sooo....
J. Crispin 30-May-2007 09:51
Having had lunch at the Fat Duck yesterday, I can only say that I never have, nor probably ever will, have an experience quite like it.

In short, the whole experience was amazing.
From the food, which was exceptional, to the delicious, specially chosen wines on offer to accompany the individual courses and the very pleasant, helpful staff in attendance.

We tried the tasting menu which, as a non-meat eater, caused me a bit of concern when I saw that there were quite a few meat courses. However, we explained my situation to the waiter who promptly assured me that this was not a problem.

When the food started to arrive, I could not have been more pleased with the meat alternatives offered to me, without any compromise of flavour or sensation.

I cannot sing the praises of this restaurant enough and feel sure that there is no other place to match it.

Having read the above negative comments - I can only say you must try for yourself and arrive with an open mind.

Serious foodies need only apply !!!!!

J. Crispin
Guest 25-Dec-2006 02:59
...and then you'd have to go somewhere else to get fed!
Johnson & Wales Culinary Student 04-Nov-2006 00:57
I have been intereted in this restaurant for a while now, examining the menu online and such, but couldn't get a real sense of what Chef Heston Blumenthal is really making. Thank you for providing a sense of the culinary and gastronomic breakthroughs that one of the worlds most innovative chef and his restaurant.
Guest 08-May-2006 15:57
You know I'm a photographer,and I made the deliberate choice NOT to photograph any of the food. Why, becauase it'll never do it justice. And you get "ergh, looks disgusting".. it's about taste!!!! I"ve had tthe tasting menu, and it's part theatre part science lesson and a once in a life time experience. Try it
(if you want to read about it I blogged it herehttp://eyedropper.typepad.com/blog/2005/05/lunch_at_the_fa.html
NYC Chef 08-Apr-2006 00:49
Cooking, like woodworking, is a reductive and combinative craft. Woodworking masters such as James Krenov, let's say, move the frontier of what is possible with their chosen medium. No doubt one could list photographers who have done or are doing the same.

It is always the case that the work of visonaries is regarded as either inferior or offensive by a majority of people. This is as it should be, as the majority of people, rightly, enjoy the secure comforts of the familiar. Yet, a small number of brave experimentalists move ahead into unknown terrain and are willing to risk failure.

The Fat Duck is such a place. The visionary creators neither cater to the majority, nor do they turn away from the risks entailed in doing something new. To many people their food looks overly-manipulated, overly-manufactured, too many steps removed from the materials out of which it is derived. This is a perfectly understandable point of view.

It's a point of view we are well advised to keep in mind the next time we either launch Photoshop or stop by McDonald's.

Lovely food photography, by the way.

Thank you for sharing it.
Paul in LA 26-Feb-2006 12:27
God what an awful place! The entire series gives me the chills. The food looks about as appetizing as being hurled naked into the frigid Thames. Have to admit its good photography
which is the reason it's submitted. However the negative effect on the psyche owing to the subjet matter is difficult to swallow. ( No wonder so many Limey's retire on the Costa
Del Sol and anyewhere else there exists warmth and color ).
Tina 01-Feb-2006 09:36
I am going there this week , the photos are fantastic!! Thanks for whetting my appetite.
Rosie 26-Jan-2006 22:49
Pretentious crap.
Guest 12-Jul-2005 12:50
Jesus; I think I would starve if I had to eat there - you would lose more calories lifting your knife and fork than the food would provide. Looks good though.

If you get hungry come to Yorksire for a slap-up pud.
Don Cuevas12-Jul-2005 07:44
Brilliant!
click on thumbnails for full image