After
a lot of shenanigans regarding the allocation of seats and subsequent scalping
on ebay (yes, the opportunity to eat
at the Fat Duck is going for around 1k, and on TOP of that, you then pay the
price of the meal) I was left despondent and disappointed – I had not been
offered a seat at the once-in-a-lifetime
whole-restaurant-moves-across-the-world experience. So, I did what any self-respecting
person would do, I started begging on facebook. HA! Luckily my lamentations
were met by a lovely person knight in shining armour, who acknowledged
my desperation and invited me along to his four person table. I squealed till I
was dizzy and arranged the day off, hooray shift work!
When
the day finally came I could barely sleep the night before, I prepared by
stomach for the lunch time sitting by sleeping through breakfast and ensured my
camera was fully charged. The traffic was terrible en route but I was not late.
I stepped up to the sleek black glass door entrance and was shown in.
Heston
Blumenthal and his team based the décor and experience around “Alice in
Wonderland” and they did not delay. The corridor was completely black, save for
a TV-screen “door” looking into the kitchen. This was all made to resemble
Alice’s initial introduction to Wonderland after her fall down the rabbit hole.
The “door” then shuts as you approach and I was left standing there wondering
what I was meant to do. Luckily the lovely door-lady told me to go right, and
another set of sleek black glass doors slid open to reveal the restaurant. I
was greeted professionally and shown to my table with minimal fuss and once
again, could not believe I was finally sitting down inside the Fat Duck
Melbourne.
My
dining companions were already perusing a large book full of wines, matched
drinks and non-alcoholic options and I enthusiastically chose a “Fat Duck Juice”
– Apple and Blood Plum; a delicious mix of apples cooked for two hours in
aniseed, almonds and peppercorn, poured from a carafe and served in a martini
glass.
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| Fat Duck Juice - Apple and Blood Plum |
It was delicious and efreshing with a subtle spiced
aftertaste.
I
couldn’t help look around in wonder at the beautiful layout of the restaurant. A
mosaic of Heston and his antics stretched the majority of the back wall,
incomplete as yet, but already telling a story from Bray to Melbourne.
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| March 25th 2015 |
The famous Melbourne Clock hung on its own wall directly in front of me, counting
down the days from doors open to shut in August, with the time in Bray and
local time featured on two faces.
The
restaurant was surprisingly small, though not cluttered or cramped at all.
Sitting 50 guests in a mixture of tablets of two, four and six, the atmosphere
was excited but not rowdy. Comfortable chairs and plush white leather seaters
made for elegant but simple settings.
After
checking dietary requirements, it was go time.
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| Aerated Beetroot |
The
first dish served was Aerated Beetroot with horseradish mousse. A small sphere
designed to “get your tastebuds watering” does exactly that. Once the
light-as-air morsel is popped into your mouth, it dissolves into nothingness
and you’re left wondering if it was real. The beetroot was sweet, the mousse
was savoury and the meal had started like a perfect lingering dream.
A
small wooden table was set up in front of table and piece by piece, our next
dish was brought to life before us. Titled Nitro Poached Aperitifs, we were
given a choice between Gin and Tonic, Campari Soda and Vodka and Lime Sour. Not
being a big drinker, I chose what I knew best, the Vodka Lime Sour.
The third canister
was selected where a soft-mousse-like substance was pouffed onto a spoon. This
was then eased into the tub of liquid nitrogen and jumbled in the bubbling tub
until a perfectly formed meringue arose. The rind of a lime was then smoked
over a candle and the meringue was served, with an instruction to eat it at
once, completely.
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| Nitro Poached Aperitifs: Vodka and Lime Sour |
Pausing only briefly to capture the moment, I popped the frozen
aperitif into my mouth and was surprised by the intense lime flavour. It was
very cold and my teeth hurt, but by Jove I did enjoy the fanfare surrounding
this table-side preparation.
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| Red Cabbage Gazpacho, Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream |
Next
up was a perfectly sculpted Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream with Red Cabbage
Gazpacho. I’m a big fan of gazpacho, and this cabbage variation was no
different. The ice cream had a good peppery spicy flavour without being too
overwhelming, and the red cabbage soup went well with the mustard flavours.
These dishes were all building up to something, I could feel it.
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| Savoury Lollies |
Then
we were presented with the Savoury Lollies – something I was looking forward to
after seeing a photo of this dish on Broadsheet. Aside from being visually enticing
whilst simultaneously shooting you back to your childhood, these Lollies were
spectacular. The recommendation was to eat from left to right, starting with
the Waldorf Rocket to encapsulate the Waldorf Salad, the Salmon Twister (or
Cyclone as the Aussies call it) and the Feast, a chicken liver parfait coated
in fig gel and dotted with caramelised sugar crystals and peanuts.
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| Feast |
I
attempted to eat the Waldorf Rocket slowly, but my sensitive teeth resisted. I
felt I missed a lot of the flavour, though I was acutely aware that the tip represented
the creamy mayonnaise dressing. The Lolly had a subtle apple-celery flavour and
was certainly refreshing. Next was the Salmon Twister, a safe but tried and
true delicious combination of smoked salmon, tender and juicy, with avocado and
cream cheese gel ropes. The star of this dish was without doubt, Feast. A
velvet smooth parfait with deep decadent flavours, combined with a sweet hit
from the fig gel and caramel crunch. If I could repeat a dish, it would
probably be this one.
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| Fat Duck Films |
A
mysterious moss-filled box was presented to the table, with four plastic packs
containing “Fat Duck Films”, flavoured oak moss to cleanse your palate and
transport you to the forest.
You are then served a creative bowl of Jelly and
Quail, Marron Cream, Caviar Sorbet and Truffle Toast, inspired by Alain Chapel,
a French three-michelin star masterchef. As you eat, liquid nitrogen poured
over the moss envelops the table with scents of the forest and you are lost in
the dish.
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| Jelly of Quail, Marron Cream |
The texture of the jelly and cream reminded me a lot of Sago, but the
flavours were magnified and each layer was revealed the more you scooped. Smooth
pea mousse, made from peeling peas out of their skin, cubes of turnip and the
layer of marron cream topped off with a layer of foie gras parfait.
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| Truffle Toast |
The truffle
toast was crispy and crunchy spread with a thin layer of oak smoked butter, and
paired perfectly in between each bite of the jelly. Heston imagined transporting the diner to an
oak forest, and he certainly did, allowing us to taste, touch, see and smell
all the essences of forest.
The
“best bread you’ve ever tasted” was presented next, along with house churned
butter from local Victorian farmers and a small dish of salt. The sourdough was
baked fresh, and the crust was smoked and amazingly crunchy. It wasn’t the best
bread by a long shot (I’m not a fan of sourdough) but it was definitely to
standard.
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| Snail Porridge |
I
was hesitant with the sixth dish of the afternoon, Snail Porridge with Joselito
Ham and Shaved Fennel. I had never tried snail before and when I looked
closely, they were definitely snail shaped, but currently my resounding
sentiment is ‘soft and chewy’. The dish was not bad, and most definitely
interesting. The porridge was made up of oats and grandola style nuts and grains
to give a nice texture to each mouthful of green parsley soup infused with
aniseed, and ham. The snails themselves were tender, but I felt they didn’t
really have a distinct taste. I will need to venture out into more snail dishes
to discover whether this is the norm, or an exception.
 |
| Roast Marron |
Roast
Marron with Shiitake, Confit Kombu and Sea Lettuce was next and the beauty of
this dish took my breath away. Shards of fried crispy sea lettuce fanned out
from between perfectly cooked marron, which was tender and juicy, and smelled
fantastic. The bed of shiitake, kombu seaweed and daikon highlighted the
Japanese inspired flavours of the dish and enhanced the Marron. The Blood Plum
sauce specked with roasted onion and watercress added the final touches of
texture to the dish.
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| Intense stock created in a vacuum centrifuge and covered in edible gold leaf |
The
star of the menu was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. We were given a hint of things
to come when a bookmark embossed with silver writing told the story of the Tea
Party, and the origins of Mock Turtle Soup, where British chefs used calf head
and feet instead of the prohibitively expensive turtle meat. Gold pocket-watches
were then brought out in a beautiful display case and our waitress regaled us
with how the March Hare dipped the Hatter’s pocket-watch into a cup of tea
after the watch was running two days late.
The shining gold-leaf coated pocket-watches
were then ceremoniously dipped into our clear-glass teapots for one, where they
dissolved to reveal the soup base for the Mock Turtle soup. It is this display
of storytelling and meal interaction which makes the Fat Duck an incredible
experience.
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| Mad Hatter's Tea Party |
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| Mock Turtle Soup accompaniments |
“Of
course you do not drink your tea out of the pot!” declared our waitress, and
matching cup and saucers appeared in front of us, where a delicate quail egg yolk
sat atop a puree of turnip and swede, and was surrounded by cubes of pickled radish,
cucumber, truffle and ox tongue. The intricate placement of tiny enoki mushrooms
into the egg yolk is an example of the attention to detail Blumenthal and his
team pride themselves on. This is a reminder on Alice’s transition from big to
small and back again, as well as representing the caterpillar head and simultaneously
the mushroom he sat upon.
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| Mock Turtle Soup |
Once
we poured the Mock Turtle Soup onto the accompaniments, we were left with a
beautiful delicate dish.
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| Toast Sandwiches |
“But what is a tea party without sandwiches?” we heard
behind us. And a beautifully themed sandwich bedecked double-tiered stand was placed
in the centre of the table. Topped by the Mad Hatter’s Hat, with a matching
feathered plume found on each lapel of the waitresses’ blouse, eight tiny
sandwiches were placed with care. Dubbed Toast Sandwiches, they consisted of an
egg and chive mayonnaise layer, toasted bread (which we confused with schnitzel
for a moment) and mustard and cabbage leaf, combined with hints of bone marrow
and anchovy. Of course these little sandwiches were incredibly moreish, if only
all tea parties had these as its star.
After
the course was cleared, we were presented with large conch shells with iPod Nanos
hidden inside. Out instructions were to listen and enjoy the dish, and the explanation
would come afterwards. The soothing sounds of waves crashing against a sandy
beach filled our ears, and once again, I was transported far away, to a tranquil
place. The dish was presented immaculately, with fine Venezuelan sand and
crumbled sea shells underneath a clearly ocean inspired dish.
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| "Sound of the Sea" |
“Sound
of the Sea” incorporated dried kelp, hijiki seaweed, baby eels, razor
clams, cockles, mussels and sea urchins bordering a sea foam made with cockles
and clams and kombu, and nestled on a bed of edible sand made from tapioca
maltodextrin blitzed with anchovies.
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| A story told. |
The stars of the dish were the pieces of
delicate sashimi butterfish, abalone and kingfish. The greens made for a
decidedly refreshing crunch and Heston had done it again, with an
inspirational, visually stunning, delicious dish.
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| Salmon Poached in a Liquorice Gel |
Salmon Poached in a Liquorice
Gel, Endive, Vanilla Mayonnaise and Golden Trout Roe was a beautifully cooked
piece of salmon, coated in a subtle soft liquorice gel. At first I was bracing
myself for a strong liquorice flavour, but instead it was incredibly subtle,
not detracting from the sweetness of the salmon. The pops of Australian Roe and
grapefruit made for a cohesive but strange flavour that I am not thoroughly
used to, bordering on sour and sweet. Though this was not an incredible dish,
it was perfectly executed.
By
this stage I was becoming increasingly impressed by the French crockery each
dish was served on. There were never any double-ups, apart from one, and each
plate complemented and added to the feel of each dish. Wooden boxes featured
heavily as well, clearly custom made for each Fat Duck experience on a plate.
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| Lamb with Cucumber |
Lamb
with Cucumber, Green Pepper and Caraway was the final main savoury dish, served
with a side of lamb and mint consommé and an interesting plate with lamb
tongue, sweetbread and quinoa crisps with caramelised onion. At this stage we
were becoming more excited for the impending dessert storm, but this final dish
reminded us of the wonders of the Fat Duck. The lamb was perfectly cooked, as
expected, though the flavours were quite similar to other excellent lamb
dishes. Nothing popped out in terms of flavour, surprises or other, but it all
worked so well together.
The
consommé was salty, but smooth and matched the main dish perfectly. The
sweetbread was tender and delicious, with the onion adding the sweet flavours
to the dish. On the main dish, the triangles of cucumber were seared and
lightly herbed, though I’m not sure I would choose cucumber to match lamb.
Together the side and the main worked well, without being too heavy. Again, not
a standout dish, but enough to keep customers happy and satisfied whilst preparing
for dessert.
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| Hot Cold Tea |
A
simple glass filled with a slightly thickened amber liquid was placed before
us, marking the start of the sweet courses. Hot and Cold Tea was exactly that;
we were instructed to “pick up the glass as is” and our mouths were greeted
with a confusing but delightful temperature difference of both hot and cold honey
lemon comfort. Somehow, the team at Fat Duck had split the cup down the middle
and poured liquid of different temperatures and served it up. Fascinating
palate cleanser.
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| Botrytis Cinerea |
Botrytis
Cinerea was declared “grape rot” by our waiter and if we were in any other
restaurant, I’m sure would have been met with sceptical eyes. However, sticking
with the Fat Duck’s motto of “question everything”, it was explained that
Heston used this necrotophic fungus, known primarily to grow on wine grapes which
can create distinctive sweet dessert wines, as inspiration for the dessert
representing flavours found throughout wine.
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| A thing of beauty |
The dish was a highlight for me, not only fashioned
as a beautiful bunch of grapes, but the tastes were sensational. Each ‘grape’
was a different taste and texture: grape sorbet, peach jelly, apple fruit, muscat
gel, lemon ice-cream, candied ‘grape leaves’, lemon meringue and balls of sugar
filled with lemon curd; on a bed of blue cheese inspired crumb was only the beginning.
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| Surprise! |
Inside a green dyed white chocolate sphere, suggested to be saved last, we
found salted caramel and popping candy!
It
was difficult not to notice other tables gasping in wonderment as each dish was
placed before them, so the next one was no surprise. The Not-So-Full English
Breakfast was designed with Heston’s childhood in mind, revelling in opening a
tiny commercialised cereal packet and finding a surprise inside, whilst gulping
down the best part of the cereal: highly sweetened milk left in the breakfast
bowl. The waitress joshed that the kitchen was now taking a break, and this
pre-packaged course reverts back to breakfast, as she knew most people skipped
the most important meal of the day.
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| The Not-So-Full English Breakfast |
Inside the box was a miniscule packet of ‘cereal’
sugar dusted homemade corn flakes, sweet potato and duh, popping candy.
Out
dropped a puzzle piece, and though mine was a drab coloured brown, I made
history by placing the jigsaw piece, one of 19,500, onto a board which is then
transferred onto the whimsical mural of superhero B for Blumenthal.
What is
cereal without milk? The cutest 50mL milk bottle filled with parsnip milk
arrived, tasting sweet when poured over the cereal and even better on its own.
Tiny
serve? Yes, but the breakfast isn’t over yet my friends. The wooden table was
reinstalled next to our table, and more contraptions resembling a frying pan
and burner were placed there, along with Heston branded eggs.
These
were ceremoniously cracked over the pan, being dubbed special bacon and egg
eggs, and ‘cooked’ with liquid nitrogen.
The result was an incredibly fragrant
bacon and egg ice-cream resembling scrambled eggs, served atop a beautiful
maple glazed brioche French toast with crispy caramelised pancetta. The French toast
was delicious and eggy soft, and the crusts had that slight stickiness of built
up caramel. The bacon and egg ice-cream was delicious and truly captured the
essence of savoury flavours without being weird.
It
doesn’t stop there. A tiny jar of Fat Duck Orange with Earl Grey Marmalade was
presented to the table, and the waitress sneakily winked, make sure you eat the
lid too! Of course it was made with moulded, tempered white chocolate. AHH!
And, no doubt, the marmalade was fresh and zingy, and I could have eaten the
jam AND the dessert so many times over.
A
picture frame was placed in front of us next, with the title Whisky Gums
heading a map of the United Kingdom and Tasmania, with five famous whiskeys,
their year and origins neatly printed alongside.
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| Whiskey Gums |
I am not going to lie, I ain’t
no whisky drinker, but peeling off these melt-in-your-mouth Gums and popping
them on your tongue, enjoying the increasing spiciness and strength from 1-5…
it was all quite tasty in the end. The presentation was clever, and added to
the enjoyment of what could have been a silly, filler course.
“Like
a Kid in a Sweet Shop” marked the end of our five-and-a-bit-hour long, lunch
degustation at one of the most sought after 2015 dining spots in Melbourne. The
cute plate titled ‘passion’ that I wanted to take home, matched the sweetly
coloured lolly bag with four pieces of ‘petit fours’ inside. To be honest, I
wanted more petit fours, to prolong the experience and continue snacking at
home. The menu had a beautiful soft sweet musk perfume on the card (that could
be my new signature scent!) and each piece promised amazing flavours.
The
Aerated Chocolate, Mandarin Jelly was like an Aero, topped with a tangy
mandarin jelly which burst full of flavour.
The
Apple Pie Caramel with an Edible Wrapper was pretty cool, with a wrapper which
instantly dissolved in your mouth, and a subtle hint of apple coming through
the gooey smooth caramel. I think I prefer traditional burned or salted
caramels with heavier flavours.
The
Queen of Hearts (she made some tarts...) was a delicious printed white
chocolate card with strawberry tart filling and crust in thin layers hidden inside.
I needed more. And yes, that red seal was made of edible red stained white chocolate.
The
Oxchoc confused me, with Wagyu Nougat, Guinness and Beef Caramel, it reminded me of an asian dish with sweet beef cooked in caramel notes. That being said, it was undoubtedly crazy delicious, smooth chocolate and a crunchy biscuit base worked in with flavours that question normality.
A
wax sealed envelope printed on high-quality card stock was handed to us as we
paid the bill and suddenly I didn’t want to leave.
The
whole experience was like nothing I had ever eaten or witnessed before, and it
was enjoyable and fun. I can’t say I was incredibly full, but I was satisfied
and definitely impressed and entertained by the creativity that the Fat Duck team
dreamed up. Though I would not return to eat the same menu for $525, I would
definitely be keen to see what other ingenious ideas and concoctions are dreamt
up with each new menu change.
TL;DR
an unforgettable, unique experience that I am so lucky to have been invited to
partake in. Thanks Steve!
