Product Description

In this beautiful, smaller format edition of the bestselling Big Fat Duck Cookbook, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. Heston Blumenthal is widely acknowledged to be a genius, and The Fat Duck has twice been voted the Best Restaurant in the World by a peer group of top chefs. But he is entirely self-taught, and the story of his restaurant has broken every rule in the book. His success has been borne out of his pure obsession, endless invention and a childish curiosity into how things work - whether it's how smell affects taste, what different flavours mean to us on a biological level, or how temperature is distributed in the centre of a souffle. In the first section of The Fat Duck Cookbook, we learn the history of the restaurant, from its humble beginnings to its third Michelin star (the day Heston received the news of this he had been wondering how exactly he would be able to pay his staff that month). Next we meet 50 of his signature recipes - sardine on toast sorbet, salmon poached with liquorice, hot and iced tea, chocolate wine - which, while challenging for anyone not equipped with ice baths, dehydrators, vacuum pumps and nitrogen on tap, will inspire home cooks and chefs alike. Finally, we hear from the experts whose scientific know-how has contributed to Heston's topsy-turvy world. With an introduction by Harold McGee, incredible colour photographs throughout and illustrations by Dave McKean, The Fat Duck Cookbook is not only the nearest thing to an autobiography from the world's most fascinating chef, but also a stunning, colourful and joyous work of art.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 532 pages

Review
'What fun it is to follow in this gastro-wizard's footsteps' Observer Food Monthly

About the Author
Entirely self-taught, Heston Blumenthal is the most progressive chef of his generation. In 2004 he won the coveted three Michelin stars in near-record time for his restaurant The Fat Duck, which has twice been voted the Best Restaurant in the World by an international panel of 500 experts. In 2006 he was awarded an OBE. He lives in Berkshire with his wife and three children.

Customer Reviews

Sublime
Having hesitated with the first deluxe edition (The Big Fat Duck Cookbook) due to the heavy pricetag, I was all too eager to buy this copy at a lower price. To be honest, it feels like I've stolen it when you compare the quality and price to other 'normal' cookbooks on the market. The book is divided into three parts; History, Recipes and Science.

It is this thoroughness and attention to detail which I think is often overlooked in the reviews of the other edition which proclaim it as a 'coffee table' book, which at least appreciates the artistry! Sure enough, it would be very eye catching and enjoyable as a read for guests and at this price I suppose this could be enough, but for those interested in more, it certainly has it.

The history section is an autobiography by Heston on his career with contributions such as the Foreword. It is littered throughout with custom illustrations which I personally find well contrasted and unlike some other books you do not feel like the pages are wasted when there is no text.

The largest section is the recipes which are mostly illustrated with a photo, further intensely colourful illustrations and a full commentary on any details not in the recipe such as its origin, technical intricacies and further anecdotal spiel, all of which I personally find complimentary to the whole book. Many have complained that the dishes require a team of people and extravagant equipment to cook, which is true for all of them if you wish to do it in a day. However, I think a small number of the recipes would be possible in the home as in some cases components can be set aside for considerable time leaving the core until just before serving. That being said, I have yet to cook from it but I have my eye on a few of the simpler ones to start. Unfortunately, some would ultimately be impossible to recreate fully without thousands of pounds worth of specialist chemical equipment.

The last section on science is more like an appendix of the 'equipment, ingredient and techniques' used at Heston's restaurant. Following this is a comprehensive watered down contribution from various academics associated with the field on subject areas such as taste perception, ingredient properties and flavour release.

Even if someone somehow mistakenly bought this cookbook at this price thinking it would have classic recipes for the kitchen, I cannot see how they would be disappointed with what they had bought instead. Time to find a liquid nitrogen home delivery service...!

The Magnificent Fat Duck
The Fat Duck Cookbook is a magnificent book in every respect. It is a big book, beautifully produced with truly superb photography and a delightful, slightly quirky, layout, (where else would you find the index as a spreadsheet in the middle of the book and the dedication right at the back?).
It is so much more than just a cookbook; it is Heston Blumenthal's story.
Part one is History (his story?), part two is Recipes and part three is Science. It is entertaining and easy to read; it is informative to the point of education and, to use Jay Raynor's comment, the wonderfully enticing pictures of food are "pure Gastro-porn".
I am a simple soul. I am a reasonable cook in the sense that guests seem to appreciate my efforts and I have sufficent skill to survive without starving. The idea of taking food preparation and presentation to the heights of celebrity chefdom has been a bit of a lazy aspiration. I suspect that the chance of me ever actually dining at the Fat Duck is pure fantasy - I probably will not live long enough for a table to become vacant nor find a banker prepared to give me a sufficent mortgage - but that is what dreams are for.
The Fat Duck Cookbook affords me the opportunity to dabble in the shadow of a Master but more than that I predict that it has a place in history as popular and as topical as Mrs Beetons Cookbook but on a par with Escoffier. I hope to keep my 'first edition' in pristine condition as it will surely increase in value. I wonder if I can get HB to sign it ;-)

Made me feel like a kid in a sweet shop!
I have always been fascinated with the story of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck. He's always struck me as the Willy Wonka of the Cookery world. This book is great fun and as a cookbook - revolutionary. I think the most fun is to be had in reading how the recipes are made. It feels like a magician letting you into an inner magic circle. One can easily appreciate the hard work that goes into inventing and refining the foods shown and the book quality also reflects this. It's a wonderful tome with some of the most inspiring pictures of food presentation I have ever seen.

Other reviews have mentioned that one would need very expensive kitchen equipment to make some of these recipes, however, I think the main limiting factor is the unusual ingredients and the great time needed to make most of the dishes.

I thoroughly recommend this amazing book. Even if you don't get to make any of the recipes, I can guarantee you will feel inspired to try something different in your cooking, especially a taste for theatric presentation.