When faced with the dilemma of whether Heston Blumenthal is crazy or misunderstood, we tend to stick in the second camp. Some of his concepts such as snail porridge err on the side of disgusting, certainly, yet this Chef and Officer of the British Empire has produced some awe inspiring creations over the past decade…

This is where the Heston magic happens.

Absinthe Jelly

Good presentation and an element of surprise seem to go hand in hand for Heston Blumenthal, and he certainly didn’t hold back here. This dish may have looked like something out of a 90s Lucas Arts video game, but it didn’t look repulsive. Served on what Heston called his ‘wobble-box’, the conical three foot high luminous (and glowing!) jelly wobbled two and fro quite spectacularly. Somehow the Michelin-star chef managed to inject a glow in the dark, yet edible, chemical into the jelly as well as the absinthe and luscious green colour. I love how it looks almost cuddly, yet there’s an element of danger with this dish: gobble down too much and the green fairy will floor you.

Nitro Green Tea and Lime Mousse Palette Cleanser

You can’t talk about Heston Blumenthal’s most amazing creations without mentioning liquid nitrogen. He’s used it in a number of dishes, but not simply to make things look like they’re smoking. With this dish Heston uses liquid nitrogen (also known as ‘dry ice’) to instantly cook a tiny green tea and lime flavoured ‘meringue’ palette. It’s designed to pop and melt in the mouth and we’re quite impressed that Mr. Blumenthal has merged a Willy Wonka-esque physical experience with a basic concept like a palette cleanser.

Alice in Wonderland Drink Me Drink

Cherry pie followed by turkey might not be everyone’s idea of ‘amazing’. As with many of Heston’s creations, however, you must trust his expertise as the owner of a Michelin starred restaurant and take his mixture of sweet and savoury with a pinch of…custard.

This creation is based on the drink featured in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, originally found by Alice herself inside a tiny corked bottle with a tag stating ‘DRINK ME’. Aside from the beverage causing Alice to become just inches tall, she remarks that it tasted first of toffee, then hot buttered toast followed by custard, cherry tart and finally turkey and it’s this sequence of flavours that Heston decided to recreate.

Concocted by infusing each food in milk for twenty four hours, Heston then thickened each layer up and dyed them the same shade of pink so the taster was unable to tell when the next course would come. Served in a test tube with an inverse straw, the consumer could walk around a dinner party enjoying a number of (perhaps ill-matched) flavours. It may not be the most palatable of party pieces, but who says that everyone must copy these flavours identically?

The man himself.

Jelly of Quail, Langoustine cream, parfait of Fois Gras, oak moss and truffle toast (homage to Alain Chapel)

The Oak Moss dish is served at Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire: The Fat Duck. You can experience it on the ‘taste menu’ which also includes nitro green tea and lime mousse (amongst 14 other courses).

To start off the dish you are served strips of ‘flavour’ which strongly resemble those ‘Thin Ice’ breath strips Wrigley’s released a few years ago. Whilst you enjoy these, a wooden box filled with oak moss is brought to the table and filled with dry ice (liquid nitrogen). Of course, you don’t eat the moss, but it’s there to create the appearance and aroma of a forest before you’re brought jelly of quail served in langoustine cream with parfait of fois gras. The truffle toast is served separately on a wooden block.

You may argue that anyone can create something as bizarre as snail porridge, but this particular piece is nothing short of fantastic (or fantastical) for bringing the unusual sights, tastes and smells of a fresh woodland to a typical restaurant environment.

The ‘Not-so-full-English Breakfast’

Just when you thought you’d seen the last of Blumenthal’s love affair with liquid nitrogen, along comes the ‘Not-So-Full-English-Breakfast’. The first dish on this menu, parsnip ‘flakes’, is served in a miniature cereal box (much like the ones you get in a Kellogg’s variety pack) and with a jug of parsnip flavoured milk. Next comes egg and bacon ice cream, created instantly at the table using liquid nitrogen to freeze it there and then. This is served on pain perdu (eggy bread, to you and me) with tomato jelly and a stick of faux-bacon (something much lighter than the meat which is flavoured).

To finish Heston’s English breakfast off, you are served ‘hot and iced tea’ which appears to be a simple cup of tea, but it is hot at the top, and freezing cold at the bottom. How does he do it? We’ve no idea! All we know is that this is a new breed of breakfast peppered with humour, but not necessarily one we’d want to eat at 7.30am rushing out of the door.

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