THE FAT DUCK...and the really full girls....

                  Well, here it is, an experience of a life time, our visit to 
                          Heston Blumenthal's signature restaurant
Not many words required, except perhaps mind (and tummy) boggling...

Dry ice is SO much fun at the table...

This little adventure was quite a commitment...

The delightful Rebecca and I left by Tube and then travelled by Regional train, after a marathon haul to the platform (that seemed to be in Wales...) to the countryside in Maidenhead. From there we grabbed a cab to the village of Hurley, nestled in by Warne (actually I made that up :0) where we stayed at a beautiful Country pub... Now on with the show, a loose fitting "ensemble" another cab ride to the Village of Bray... and we were ready...

   JELLY OF QUAIL CRAYFISH CREAM,Chicken Liver Parfait and Oak Moss   

The theme of this 14 course extravaganza plus optional (?) as if!
matching wines is presented with The Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party as it's guide...

  

  

SNAIL PORRIDGE Iberico Bellota Ham, Shaved fennel

Actually absolutely delicious...

Essentially it is a crazy "mind play" where what you hear as a description, what is presented to you visually, the smells and the anticipated taste, requires a high degree of left/right side of the brain integration...

MOCK TURTLE SOUP

(c1850)

Mad Hatter Tea

"Have you seen the Mock Turtle yet?"

"No" said Alice. "I don't even know what a Mock Turtle is"

 "It's the thing that Mock Turtle soup is made from" said the Queen.

I won't tell you what Mock Turtle is as it is quite "confronting" however,

yes that is real gold leaf, and those little mushrooms were the size of a match, popped into a perfectly poached quails egg...exquisite

"SOUND OF THE SEA"

This is served with a conch shell containing a mini I pod, so you pop in the ear buds and whilst listening to the sounds of the waves and seagulls you "wade" your way through a pile and flotsam and jetsam..."sand" included... Sashimi, seaweed and very realistic sea foam...

This one actually got me. I simply couldn't eat more than a mouthful, it was just too "real" for me a perfect replica of what we step around on Cottesloe beach...

Fancy a vino? or fourteen

A favourite moment was when the rather young Eastern European sommelier with the very piercing ice blue eyes presented a bottle to us with a flourish, and informed us with great reverence that this... is a Turkish Fume Blanc...and then, with a flick of his eyelashes and a super piercing look with those eyes... he followed with..."eet...ees...from..TUrrrkey....." priceless!

We had wine to match each course and a snappy little Sake with "The Sounds of the Sea" experience...

The "BFG" before...

A perfect tower of Black Forest Gateau...

Some of the many (oh, so many) courses came accompamied by a "spritz" of "something" above our heads at the table.

This is to stimulate the taste buds and basically REALLY get the juices flowing, and yes, someone had done their homework, it was amazing...

A quick spritz, and it was allllll over...

 

We finished our evening with (because of course it was JUST what we needed)

a Whiskey Flight....

This was framed map of Ireland and attached to all the "County Sides" was whiskey "gum" like a lethal, gummie bear...good grief, how much more could we possibly take :0)...

Apparently, just a "wafer thin" bit more... although thankfully take "away" was the operative word...

"Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop"

Apple pie caramel with edible wrapper, Aerated Chocolate with mandarin jelly, Coconut Baccy (like a pouch of chewing tobacco, made of stringy coloured coconut) and, my absolute favourite, The Queen of Hearts...

Perfect in every detail, patterned like the playing cards of our childhood, made with white chocolate layered around a yummy jammy filling...amazing!   

she made some tarts....

and so we were done... this has been a selection of what we enjoyed, ploughed through and were wowed by....

THIS is the whole "shebang"

To our credit, we did manage to drag ourselves from our beds the next morning and have a pretty good crack at a brisk country walk...

very full girls and Beck doing an easy job of looking delicious!

 You may notice though, this is a head shot only, neck down we looked like a Telly Tubby...

A gigantic thank you to Rebecca for wangling a table that had a two month waiting list, and for making an idea that was hatched way back in Italy at "The" Wedding a reality, and for being my partner in a taste bud extavaganza.

  As always (and in this particular case it could have been a very realistic option)

Thank You for sharing xxx