http://www.thefatduckgroup.com/

The Heston Blumenthal Team, HIgh Street, Windsor (2026)

23/03/2026

‘Maybe it’s bipolar’ is an inspiring campaign by Bipolar UK, with a simple but important goal: to help more people recognise the signs of bipolar, seek a diagnosis, and access life-changing specialist treatment.

Early recognition of bipolar can transform lives. By raising awareness of symptoms that are often overlooked, we can empower people to ask important questions, seek the right support, and move towards earlier and more accurate diagnosis.

If you think you, or someone close to you, might be affected, see the link below to take the test.

https://www.bipolaruk.org/take-the-bipolar-test/

16/03/2026

It began with something that was surprising and somewhat surreal.

During a laboratory visit, I came across a bottle filled with what appeared to be frogspawn. It was in fact a Thai drink made with sweet basil seeds suspended in gel. Strange to look at, but striking too.

Back at The Fat Duck, we had been working extensively with fluid gels made using gellan. I love them because the process creates something that looks like a liquid, but has a viscous thickness to it.

One day in the development kitchen, I doodled a glass divided in two, which set me thinking: could a glass hold two elements side by side? Two liquids, for example, one hot and one cold?

In theory, of course, separating liquids is more or less impossible. In practice, with fluid gels fashioned to exactly the right viscosity, you can create the illusion. They had to be thin enough to sip, yet structured enough not to collapse into each other.

Even then, temperature proved a challenge. Hot feels more fluid in the mouth. Cold feels thicker. The answer was adding more acidity on the cold side, encouraging salivation so that both felt equally fluid.

I developed Hot & Iced Tea back in 2005, and it still surprises guests at The Fat Duck today.

12/03/2026

Over the years, I’ve found myself writing all sorts of books, from home cooking to TV tie-ins, a culinary science primer for the Royal Society of Chemistry, and works on modern and historical gastronomy, always sharing my curiosity and the discoveries I encounter along the way.

Because cooking is a fundamental part of our culture and reflects who we are and how we got here. It offers endless paths to all of us for exploration and discovery.

09/03/2026

“Sixteen years ago, me and my team went down a new rabbit hole and set up a new restaurant – Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. It was inspired by a simple idea: to explore historical British food and bring it to a new audience.

To do this, we visited libraries and historians and pored over all manner of manuscripts, searching for recipes with the right blend of culinary creativity and playfulness. We discovered a wonderland of dishes with wonderful names – Powdered Duck, Ragoo of Pigs’ Ears, Tipsy Cake and, of course, Meat Fruit, whose irresistible mix of deliciousness and deception has captivated so many people and become a modern classic.

That this dream of mine became a reality is above all down to the enthusiasm, energy and imagination of the incredible team, past and present, who made the restaurant such a vibrant and exciting place. It’s also down to all the receptive and imaginative guests whose culinary curiosity led them to try a taste of history with us.

In January 2027, we will welcome our final guests in London. Over the year ahead, we will celebrate everything Dinner has been and invite you to experience it with us one last time.”

- Heston Blumenthal OBE

07/03/2026

The history of pies is rich, exciting, and full of strange stories. What began as something purely practical (a vessel designed to preserve meat) has evolved into something expressive, playful and, at times, completely unexpected. Here’s a selection of pies I’ve developed over the years:

· Pie, Mash & Liquor - banana puree, tiramisu, puff pastry, custard (Great British Food, episode 4)
· Fish Pie with “Sand & Sea” – whose visual appearance was inspired by my multisensory dish, Sound of the Sea (In Search of Perfection, season 2, episode 4)
· The ‘Pork Pie’ which was actually beetroot and horseradish ice cream, goat cheese panna cotta (Great British Food, episode 4)
· Not exactly a pie, but a pie-flavoured caramel with an edible wrapper (part of the Sweet Shop course at The Fat Duck)
· Mince Pie made with actual minced meat, as mince pies traditionally were (served on Christmas Menu at The Fat Duck)

04/03/2026

When I was working on an episode about pies for Great British Food, the last thing I expected was to be sending food into the stratosphere with Dave Akerman.

But that was just one of many surprises. As well as launching a potato skywards, I took a deep dive into the history of pies, from humble penny pies sold on the streets, to pork pies packed for journeys, and on to the comforting ritual of pie and mash.

It’s a good example of how food history is never just about recipes. It’s about people, innovation, necessity and imagination. It shows us who we are, what we share, and what makes us tick.

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering what happened to that space-bound potato (let’s call it Spudnik), you can watch the full episode via the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t0jGYYO-jg

02/03/2026

Great British Pies…

Who doesn’t love a pie? And our devotion to them goes all the way back to the 13th century, although what people were eating then wasn’t quite what we’d recognise today.

For a start, the pastry case wasn’t meant to be eaten at all. It was a hard, almost rock-like shell, the medieval equivalent of airtight Tupperware, built simply to protect and preserve the meat inside. Function over flavour.

It wasn’t until the 16th century that fat began to appear in pastry recipes, and suddenly everything changed. The case itself became delicious. Fast forward a century or so, we’re in a golden age of pies and, with it, the rise of specialist pastry chefs.

It’s a surprisingly deep subject, full of unexpected twists, which inspired me to explore it further on Great British Food, Episode 4.

If you’re curious, you can watch it via the link below.

https://bit.ly/404C5UM

25/02/2026

Mindful eating can be a way of reconnecting with yourself, letting stress, worries, and distracting thoughts fade into the background.
For me, this is part of the magic of food. If we let it, if we allow the stimulation to flow and truly register it as it happens, it can slow the frenetic pace of life, sharpen the senses, and create a feeling of fulfilment rather than fullness.

So why not take this experiment with me, and who knows, maybe this will be the best raisin you’ve ever eaten.

https://thefatduck.co.uk/files/HB_Mindful-Raisin.mp4

20/02/2026

Tasting the smell

When I was working on the Counting Sheep dessert, I began exploring one of the most nostalgic childhood scents: baby powder. I wanted to taste it not literally, of course, but through an idea I had explored at The Fat Duck, the concept of tasting a smell.

The aim was to create a dish that tastes like the smell of baby powder, in a way that is genuinely delicious to eat.

To do this, I started by understanding the aromas that make up baby powder. Working alongside master perfumer Christophe Laudamiel, we uncovered a surprisingly long list of aromatic components.

This led us to research food ingredients with similar notes, including vanilla, milk, tonka bean, lavender, coriander and orange blossom, all of which are now part of the dessert.

18/02/2026

Ideas for dishes are often not from a single source. They can and do come from anywhere. It’s always a mix of inspiration, experimentation and sometimes pure luck. One of the most unexpected, not to say unusual, examples was Counting Sheep, inspired by the phrase itself and that strange, fleeting state between being awake and asleep.

Where have you found your inspirations?

14/02/2026

Together with Professor Robin Dunbar, we explored how a scent can draw others in.

Our sense of smell plays a crucial role in how we perceive taste. When food is cooked, chemical reactions occur that produce aromatic compounds.

These compounds are volatile, meaning they easily mix with the air and are carried to the smell receptors in our nose.

Foods such as meat or bread have little or no flavour when raw, but when heated they release distinctive cooking aromas. These scents are often so recognisable that, the moment we enter a kitchen, we know exactly what is being prepared.

12/02/2026

With the guidance of Professor Francis McGlone, scientific research, and the experiment in this episode, we explore the intricate relationship between pain and pleasure.

When eating spicy food, the compound capsaicin binds to receptors on the tongue, triggering a sensations of heat and pain, leading to the spicy or hot feeling.

The sensation can lead to the release of endorphins in the brain to reduce the perception of pain, resulting in a pleasurable experience.

The pleasurable sensation varies depending on individual preferences and tolerances for spicy foods.

When the pain starts to subside, there’s a feeling of relief and our sense may feel more alert and attentive.

The Heston Blumenthal Team

23/03/2026

16/03/2026

12/03/2026

09/03/2026

07/03/2026

04/03/2026

02/03/2026

25/02/2026

20/02/2026

18/02/2026

14/02/2026

12/02/2026

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