Heston Blumenthal

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Heston Blumenthal OBE (born May 27, 1966 in High Wycombe, near London) is the chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the village of Bray in Berkshire.

In 2005 The Fat Duck was named as the "best restaurant in the world" by Restaurant magazine, having been runner up the previous year, when he was also named as the third most influential chef in the UK by CatererSearch, the website of Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine. In 2006, the restaurant came second again, which Heston Blumenthal took in his stride, writing in the Guardian that he was glad El Bulli had won. However, both his eccentric culinary style and sudden media fame have met with scepticism in some quarters.

His fame is based upon his scientific approach to cooking which is often referred to as "molecular gastronomy" or "culinary alchemy". The phrase "molecular gastronomy" was coined by the late Professor Nicholas Kurti at University of Oxford and later promoted by the French scientist Hervé This. Kurti's original idea was that it is worthwhile for science to investigate the chemical processes that occur in food during cooking as well as the inherent physical properties of foodstuffs. Blumenthal has seen this idea as a way of making tastier food. While some are sceptical about the application of science to cooking, Blumenthal has remained a steadfast proponent, going so far as to open his own research and development kitchen in early 2004.

Blumenthal is known for cooking with a vacuum jar to increase expansion of bubbles during food preparation. This is used in such dishes as an aerated chocolate soufflé-like dessert. The low air pressure inside the jar causes bubbles to grow to a larger size. He also uses blow torches to quickly sear and has experimented with personal sound amplification systems to enhance the sounds, such as the crunch, created while eating foods.

Over the years, Blumenthal has collaborated with many scientists such as Dr Peter Barham, Reader in Physics at Bristol University and author of the book The Science of Cooking, Dr Charles Spence, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford, with whom he collaborated in experiments with the use of headphones during eating, Professor Andy Taylor at the University of Nottingham with whom Blumenthal has sponsored a PhD studentship, and Professor Don Mottram of the University of Reading, which recently awarded Heston with an honorary degree. Blumenthal's trademark dishes famously include bacon-and-egg ice cream, and snail porridge. Other examples are oyster and passionfruit jelly with lavender, triple-cooked chips, and poached breast of Anjou pigeon with pancetta.

Apart from a week's work experience in Raymond Blanc's kitchen, Blumenthal is self-taught. He even taught himself French while translating French cookery books. According to an interview with The Observer in 2004, he has only been cooking "seriously" for about ten years.

He is a regular contributor to The Sunday Times and formerly wrote for The Guardian. His book, In Search of Perfection was published in 2006 and is tied-in with a television series of the same name, in which he attempts to find the very best way of preparing six classic British dishes, including fish and chips and Black Forest gateau.