The Fat Duck - Bray, Berkshire, UK

When I first started planning my trip to London last December, I first thought of all the places that I wanted to visit.  The list was short, for sure, but there were a few places listed there -- Borough Market, the British Museum, and London Bridge to name a few.  But since my last trip to London was back in 1994, I was really looking forward to all of the interesting flavors to be found in London.  Gastronomically diverse, London has much to offer any hungry traveler.  And at the top of that list, for me, was The Fat Duck.

Securing a reservation proved much easier than I had thought -- maybe it was because I was trying to secure a reservation for lunch and during the middle of the week.  On the first couple of tries, I had actually called too late.  On the third try, exactly two months before I was going to be in London, I received an answer after the second ring.  Reservation secured, I started counting down the days.

Located in the English county of Berkshire, Bray village is about 40 minutes outside of central London.  Getting there while the London Underground was on strike proved no easy feat, but get there I did.  An unmarked building on a small stretch of roadway, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, is where you will find The Fat Duck.  The only clue about the location of the restaurant was the metal sign composed of kitchen utensils (one is a duck's webbed foot, another is a feather, while the third looks to be the duck's bill) hanging high above the ground.

Stepping through the door, the low ceilings, white washed walls and dark wood beams and supports made the restaurant feel cozy.  The soft spot lighting, the starched white tablecloths and the high-backed chairs, made the restaurant seem elegant, but not fussy.

A few moments after being seated we were brought two thick leather bound menus (I wish I could have taken that as a souvenir!) and the wine trolley was wheeled over to the table.  Since I was not going to partake in any alcohol, I asked for a bottle of still water to be brought to the table.  Moments later, my order for the tasting menu was placed (₤115 + 12.5% service charge; about $263 per person for lunch not including beverages).  Next came the bread (brown or white slices delivered to the table as you ate) and butter (unpasteurized -- salted or unsalted).

Shortly thereafter, a wooden sideboard was brought to the table and the fun began.  Our waiter started by preparing the first amuse of the afternoon, the nitro-green tea and lime mousse.  It begins when the server takes some liquid nitrogen and pours it into a metal bowl.  Like something out of a sci-fi movie, the vapor starts to rise and condensation starts to form on the outside of the metallic bowl.  A spoonful of lime mousse is dropped into the liquid nitrogen and stirred around until it emerges looking like a bite-sized cookie.  It is placed delicately onto a small plate before being dusted with green tea powder.

Preparing the first of many interesting flavors -- nitro-green tea and lime mousse.

Slightly crisp on the outside, it dissolved the moment it hit my tongue.  How would I describe the flavor?  Clean, bright and refreshing are a few words that come to mind.  A palate cleanser, this first "bite" was the first of many little jolts of flavor to come.

After this surprise, I was ready for more.  Next to arrive was a plate with two squares of jelly placed directly in the center.  Eat the orange one first and then the red one, instructed the server.  Scooping up the orange square in the spoon, I was ready for an explosion of juicy citrus flavor, like that of an orange.  Instead, I was confronted with the earthy flavor of beetroot that sparkled with just the tiniest hint of nutty sweetness.  After this first taste, I had no clue about what to expect from the second.  Sliding the jelly onto my tongue, I was hit by the intense tangy-tartness of blood orange.

Eat the orange one first and then the red one, instructed the server -- golden beet root (orange) and blood orange (red) jellies.

Following the two squares of jelly was the oyster with passion fruit jelly and lavender.  The oyster was barely visible underneath all of that passion fruit jelly and for what it's worth, there really wasn't much to taste here either.  The briny flavor of the oyster was completely overpowered by the tart flavor of the passion fruit and I did not detect any hint of lavender in this dish at all.  And even though the presentation was gorgeous, this was one of the  more lackluster dishes served to us that day.

Oyster and passion fruit jelly, lavender

Shortly after the empty oyster shell was removed from the table, our server brought a huge, wide-rimmed bowl to the table.  In the middle, was a tiny scoop of pommery grain mustard ice cream which was accompanied by a small mound of minced cucumber.  A moment later the bowl was being filled with the red cabbage gazpacho.

Pommery grain mustard ice cream, red cabbage gazpacho

The ice cream itself was excellent.  The flavor was savory, yet very fresh and clean -- truly original.  I would love to try making this myself at home sometime.  The addition of the cucumber to enhance the flavor of the dish was negligible, but it was probably added more for textural contrast.  The soup, on the other hand, was bitter and my dislike for this was probably amplified by the fact that I am not a fan of red cabbage to begin with.

After the bowl was taken away, our server started to "assemble" the next course of dishes -- a tiny oak infused "film" set upon a mound of moss piled high in a wooden box; quail jelly, cream of langoustine and parfait of foie gras in what could have been an ostrich egg; and finally, oak moss and truffle toast on a block of wood.  Next, water from a tea pot was poured over the moss and the "fog" began to roll in.

Place the film upon your tongue and savor the essence of oak.

Quail jelly, cream of langoustine, parfait of foie gras

Oak moss and truffle toast

The complete presentation (Homage to Alain Chapel).

This was probably the one of the more playfully presented dishes of the day.  As the "fog" started to drift across the table, I placed the thin, oak-infused film on my tongue and closed my eyes.  The flavor of oak was subtle, but distinct and it set the mood for what lay ahead.

The scent of the moss along with the flavor of the film, which was dissolving on my tongue, made me feel as though I was in the woods somewhere.  Taking a bite of the truffle toast, confirmed it.  The crunchiness of the toast, combined deliciously with the earthy flavor of the truffle.  One I was done with the toast, I got to work on the "composed" dish consisting of quail jelly, langoustine cream and parfait of foie gras. This final element was served cold and to tell you the truth, I think the subtle flavors of the langoustine cream and the foie gras parfait were obscured by the gamey flavor of the quail jelly.  Not entirely successful, but it was OK -- I wouldn't be begging for more.

After the box of moss and the dishes were cleared, it was a few moments before the plate below arrived at the table.

Snail porridge, Joselito ham, shaved fennel

This is probably one of the more "recognizable" dishes on the tasting menu and probably the one that I was looking forward to the most.  Was it everything I thought it would be?  Absolutely.  The day-glo green porridge was smooth and creamy and the tiny shards of Joselito ham gave this dish just the right amount of salty flavor.  The plump snails were perfectly cooked to a wonderful tenderness that contrasted well with the crunchy strips of shaved fennel.  The play on textures and flavors easily made this one of my favorite dishes of the day.  I wish I had more!

 

Roast foie gras, almond fluid gel, cherry, chamomile

Left: "Sound of the sea"
Right: Salmon poached with licorice, artichokes, vanilla mayonnaise and "Manni" olive oil

Another view of the salmon poached with licorice.

Left: Ballotine of Anjou pigeon, black pudding "to order", pickling brine and spiced juices
Right: Hot and iced tea

Mrs. Marshall's Margaret coronet

Pine sherbet fountain

Mango and douglas fir puree, bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet, blackcurrant and green peppercorn jelly

Preparing the nitro-scrambled egg.

Left: Nitro scrambled egg, bacon ice cream, pain perdu
Right: Tea jelly

Whisk(e)y gums -- 1. Glenlivet, 2. Oban, 3. Highland Park, 4. Laphroig, 5. Jack Daniel's

Orange honeycomb chocolate

Left: Violet tartlets and nougat
Right: Carrot and orange tuile

The Fat Duck
High Street
Bray, Berkshire, UK
Telephone: 01628.580.333

Comments

[Kat]

Very interesting! can't wait to hear more about it.

[Moira]

Reid, my friend- I'm sure the meal was an amazing experience, but your photography is simply breathtaking. I always thought you were a good photographer, but your work has improved exponentially. I'm looking forward to your write-up, but I'm thrilled to see your fab visuals first without the text crowding them. Bravo!

[Kirk]

Looks simply amazing Reid!

[Nate]

Holy smokes, that is one exquisite meal. It must have cost an arm, two legs, and some internal organs as well!

[Cathy]

you went! Hope you enjoyed it - looks like you must have!

[Debbie-chan]

Oh, man, that looks insane! Can't wait to read your impressions. (I loved "Fat Duck Films.")

Where can I get a Laphroig whiskey gum?

[leigh]

wow, can't wait to read your impressions of the fat duck . . . it looked like willa wonka's factory when it was featured on diary of a foodie earlier this year.

simply amazing.

[J-DOG$$$$$z]

WHISKEY GUMS!

[Mama BoK]

Must be an amazing meal..!! everything looked so unique..! i love..!

[Chubbypanda]

OMG. Awesome! I've always wanted to try a molecular gastronomy place. Too bad the wife would never go for it.

[El Jeffo]

Yow!!! I'm jealous... that's some good food... but uhm.... I bet you had to smash every single piggly bank you had to pay for that meal! But after seeing those pictures, I think... it would probably be worth it :)

[Kris]

I would probably never go to a restaurant like this myself, but the opportunity to see it all in pictures is fantastic!

[Kat]

OMG! what an exciting meal, like you said just like out of a Sci-Fi movie! Wow...thanks for taking me along on your foodie adventure.

[Kathy]

omigosh - I've been waiting for this post for a looong time!!! :) thank you, it's simply amazing! =)

[Local boy eatz]

wow you have only el bulli to visit 2 things on my to do list before I die, visit fat duck & el bulli in the same week, pics are quite impressive

thanks from 1 foodie to another

[milgwimper]

YAY! Wow I am loving the photographs, and the food looks scrumptious. I wish I could see you in London! *sigh* Sorry I missed seeing you when you went to California.

I am so glad you are posting. So would you recommend this place? Is it someplace I sould save up to eat? :)

btw I posted on my blog to where I am located, well the country at least for now. :P

[epicureanappetite]

Hey! I really enjoy reading your site! :) We have very similar taste in restaurants (we've visited many of the same ones)! You've got really great photographs too! Check out my blog if you're interested.

[babe_kl]

i only have one word to describe this post - WOW!!!

[helen]

omg, i know it's been a while, but i drop on by and you've been and gone to the Fat Duck? I am all shades of envious green! Gorgeous photos, lovely write-up and well-done too on getting out there during a tube strike too!

[Jeanne]

Oooooh, there are some new items on that menu at last!! That's always been my one complaint about the Fat Duck: the unchanging menu. But there are some dishes here I've never seen before and certainle weren't there when I went. Isn't that oyster & passion fruit the most divind combination?

And your photos are awe-inspiring - really fabulous. Clearly they didn't have the same issues about cameras as Yauatcha ;-)

[Robert Wood]

Food scientist author, Harold McGee, chats about Mr. Heston Blumenthal's food on the November 10. '07 Splendid Table. The Fat Duck segment begins at apx. 25:20 into the program.
Reid you doing some excellent work with the Canon 5D!

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/

[James]

I read your review with interest, but I am at a loss with respect to how it actually WAS. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Quite apart from the Molecular Gastronomy part, was any part of it delicious?

After you told us about the oak moss and the film, I don't remember you talking to us about how the food actually tasted. And that's a shame. For the better part of three hundred dollars, I can assure you, I would be talking about tastes, and feelings, and smells, and memories, and how great, or how disappointing, a meal actually was.

I think this is the problem with Molecular Gastronomy, or at least ONE of the problems. I have no problem with it. But none of this is new. I respect Wylie, and I respect M. Adria. But M. This plowed this ground years ago, as did our good friend Harold McGee, and with a good deal more attention to the issue of deliciousness, which is one thesis they maintained, and which you seem to have abandoned.

At the end of the day, every innovation, it seems to me, should raise the bar. And that bar is taste. . . does it make food taste BETTER?

Whether it's LNO or Sous Vide, or Gums, or Gellification, or Low temp cooking, or any of the multiplicity of ways in which we can manipulate food and foodstuffs, I think the question should always be this: Was it delicious?

And I read your entire review, and at the end of your review, I still didn't know the answer to that simple, single question: Was it delicious?

Warm Regards,

james.

[Sheri]

What an amazing experience! Next trip to London we will have to treat ourselves. Thank you for so beautifully documenting your experience and with such wonderful photographs. Looking forward to reading more!

[Stinky Grapefruit]

I stumbled upon your blog through foodblog.com and how glad am I that I did.

Your experience at Fat Duck reminded me so much of one of my most memorable meals at Moto in Chicago, where the joy of dining is truly experienced in one culinary spectacular after another. I wanted to slap your friend James up there with a slab of bacon ice cream. Your amazing photography combined with the menu copy clearly painted a mental palette sufficient for one to determine which dishes were aimed at flavor, flavor vs. experience, or experience with a hint of flavor. Thank you for sharing this dining experience. I'm looking forward to a trip to the UK, even if just for a snack.

Cheers,
stinkygrapefruit dot com.

[Helen]

wow, lucky you. i'd love to dine here one day. gorgeous photos as always, and when are you coming to sydney then, ay? :)