The Fat Duck Cookbook

From Strand Bookstore

Heston Blumentahl has produced a three-books-in-one book. At the front is the autobiography, beautifully and wittily illustrated by Dave McKean. Next come the complete Fat Duck recipes, with the glossiest and filthiest of gastroporn photography. Finally there is the science stuff, a set of explanations so complete and detailed the type size has been dropped to get it all on the page. An achievement nontheless. Monumentally significant because of the degree to which it has altered the very nature of the cookbook itself. A spectacle, an anthology, a revolutionary manifesto. Food preparation need not be a spectacle, but as a species, our cutting edge curiosity, is at heart, a matter of taste! Illus.

From the Publisher

An accessibly priced edition of a lavishly photographed volume of recipes by the award-winning Fat Duck restaurateur is complemented by historical information and explanations of the scientific principles behind many of his most popular dishes.

More about the book

The Fat Duck must be doing something right: the London restaurant has three Michelin stars and has been named Best Restaurant in the World by a consortium of chefs. This cookbook of Heston Blumenthal's wildly unusual dishes makes it clear why patrons need to make reservations months in advance. Recipes include red cabbage gazpacho with mustard ice cream, salmon poached in licorice, and Blumenthal's famous (notorious?) snail porridge. The recipes are not for sissies, but the book more than lives up to what one critic called it: "a love-letter to eating." Blumenthal also provides his own fascinating autobiography and a chatty history of the restaurant, along with some of the most gorgeous food photography ever.