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Heston Blumenthal OBE (born May 27, 1966 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) is the chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the village of Bray in Berkshire. Blumenthal (pronounced /ˈbluːmənˌθɔːl/) is famous for his scientific approach to cooking, which is often referred to as "molecular gastronomy" or "culinary alchemy".
Biography
Heston Blumenthal was named after the Heston services on the M4 motorway. He attended the John Hampden Grammar School, High Wycombe. Apart from a week's work experience in Raymond Blanc's kitchen, he is self-taught. According to an interview with The Observer in 2004, he has been cooking "seriously" since the mid-1990s.
He is a regular contributor to The Sunday Times and formerly wrote for The Guardian. His book, In Search of Perfection, was published in 2006 and is tied in with a television series of the same name, in which he attempts to find the best way of preparing eight classic dishes, including fish and chips and Black Forest gateau. His traditional British cuisine is served at the Hinds Head Hotel near the Fat Duck.
He produced a 6 x30 minutes television series called Kitchen Chemistry with Heston Blumenthal which aired on Discovery Science. This was followed by two more series (with much higher production values) called Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection in which he recreates in his own inimitable style British favourites like (series 1, 7 episodes) bangers & mash, fish & chips and spag bol etc.) and (series 2, 8 episodes) chicken tikka masala, hamburgers and peking duck.
Blumenthal signed a two-year deal with Channel 4 in March 2008, joining the channel's roster of celebrity chefs which already included Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Gordon Ramsay. It was reported that he had agreed to revamp the menu at a Little Chef motorway restaurant with his recipe ideas to be introduced in all 193 outlets and that this would be broadcast on Channel 4.
Blumenthal is a devotee of neuro-linguistic programming, and lists kickboxing as one of his hobbies, although in another interview he mentioned that he gave this up due to a back operation.
In the Chili Con Carne episode of the series In Search of Perfection he claimed he was unable to participate in the MRI study of chili's effect on the brain due to having a metal plate in his back caused by falling off a roof at the age of ten.
Cooking methods
Blumenthal is a proponent of molecular gastronomy (he decries the term "culinary alchemy"); he opened his own research and development kitchen in early 2004.
One of his signature techniques is the use of a vacuum jar to increase expansion of bubbles during food preparation. This is used in such dishes as an aerated chocolate soufflé–like dessert. The low air pressure inside the jar causes bubbles to grow to a larger size. He has experimented with amplification to enhance the sounds, such as the crunch, created while eating various foods.
Blumenthal is a proponent of low temperature, ultra–slow cooking, whereby a joint of meat is cooked for up to 24 hours so as to contain the fat content whilst preventing collagen molecules from re-forming within the meat. In his In Search of Perfection series, he cooks a Bresse chicken at 60 degrees Celsius (165 degrees Fahrenheit). Ultra-slow cooking produces no excess fat, making the creation of gravy impossible, to which Blumenthal argues that gravy is unnecessary, since the meat is sufficiently moist on its own when cooked in this way.
Signature dishes
Blumenthal's trademark dishes include:
- Bacon-and-egg ice cream
- Snail porridge
- Oyster and passionfruit jelly with lavender
- Triple-cooked chips
- Poached breast of Anjou pigeon with pancetta.
Collaborations
Blumenthal has collaborated with scientists, including:
- Professor Peter Barham, Reader in Physics at Bristol University and author of the book The Science of Cooking
- Dr. Charles Spence, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford, with whom he collaborated in experiments with the use of headphones during eating
- Professor Andy Taylor at the University of Nottingham with whom Blumenthal has sponsored a PhD studentship
- Professor Don Mottram of the University of Reading, which recently awarded Heston an honorary degree
References
- "Heston Blumenthal to transform Little Chef - Daily Telegrah News". Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- "Like a kid in a sweet shop: the use of generative metaphor". Retrieved 2006-12-10.
- "Independent Online: Britain's richest chefs". Retrieved 2006-12-10.
- "Daily Mail: Heston Blumenthal I injected my head chef with a dangerous dose of chilli oil".
External links
- Official website of the Fat Duck restaurant
- Blumenthal's biography
- Heston Blumenthal's column in The Times
- The Hinds Head Hotel
- Heston Blumenthal recipes at www.bbc.co.uk
- An interview in the Observer newspaper, 2004
- Guardian newspaper article on Blumenthal's collaborations with academics
- Heston Blumenthal profile on CatererSearch (Named 3rd most influential chef in the UK in 2005)
- 'The Molecular Gastronomer to the Best Restaurant in the World' Rachel Edward-Stuart Freeview 'Snapshot' video by the Vega Science Trust.
- Heston Blumenthal's Desert Island Discs
- Appearance on Irish television Part 1 of The Panel on RTÉ