Heston Blumenthal

In this enormous, beautiful book, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. Heston Blumenthal is widely acknowledged to be a genius, and The Fat Duck has twice been voted the Best Restaurant in the World by a peer group of top chefs. But he is entirely self-taught, and the story of his restaurant has broken every rule in the book. His success has been borne out of his pure obsession, endless invention and a childish curiosity into how things work - whether it's how smell affects taste, what different flavours mean to us on a biological level, or how temperature is distributed in the centre of a souffle.In the first section of "The Big Fat Duck Cookbook", we learn the history of the restaurant, from its humble beginnings to its third Michelin star (the day Heston received the news of this he had been wondering how exactly he would be able to pay his staff that month). Next we meet 50 of his signature recipes - sardine on toast sorbet, salmon poached with liquorice, hot and iced tea, chocolate wine - which, while challenging for anyone not equipped with ice baths, dehydrators, vacuum pumps and nitrogen on tap, will inspire home cooks and chefs alike. Finally, we hear from the experts whose scientific know-how has contributed to Heston's topsy-turvy world, on subjects as diverse as synaesthesia, creaminess and flavour expectation.With an introduction by Harold McGee, incredible colour photographs throughout, illustrations by Dave McKean, multiple ribbons, real cloth binding and a gorgeous slip case, "The Big Fat Duck Cookbook" is not only the nearest thing to an autobiography from the world's most fascinating chef, but also a stunning, colourful and joyous work of art.

In this beautiful, smaller format edition of the award-winning Big Fat Duck Cookbook, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. Heston Blumenthal is widely acknowledged to be a genius, and The Fat Duck has twice been voted the Best Restaurant in the World by a peer group of top chefs. But he is entirely self-taught, and the story of his restaurant has broken every rule in the book. His success has been borne out of his pure obsession, endless invention and a childish curiosity into how things work - whether it's how smell affects taste, what different flavours mean to us on a biological level, or how temperature is distributed in the centre of a souffle. In the first section of The Fat Duck Cookbook, we learn the history of the restaurant, from its humble beginnings to its third Michelin star (the day Heston received the news of this he had been wondering how exactly he would be able to pay his staff that month). Next we meet 50 of his signature recipes - sardine on toast sorbet, salmon poached with liquorice, hot and iced tea, chocolate wine - which, while challenging for anyone not equipped with ice baths, dehydrators, vacuum pumps and nitrogen on tap, will inspire home cooks and chefs alike. Finally, we hear from the experts whose scientific know-how has contributed to Heston's topsy-turvy world. With an introduction by Harold McGee, incredible colour photographs throughout and illustrations by Dave McKean, The Fat Duck Cookbook is not only the nearest thing to an autobiography from the world's most fascinating chef, but also a stunning, colourful and joyous work of art.

Heston Blumenthal, a világ egyik legelismertebb séfje, hírnevét éttermében, a neves The Fat Duckban alapozta meg olyan eredeti - és sok számára talán bizarr - fogások megalkotásával, mint például a csigakása, a nitrogénnel hűtött rántotta és a sültszalonnás-tojásos fagylalt. Ezt követően Heston elhatározta, hogy ideje visszatérni az alapokhoz: kreatív tehetségét a legismertebb, de gyakran rosszul elkészített ételek újbóli felfedezésére összpontosított. "A tökéletesség nyomában" tanulmányozza az étel életünkben és emlékeinkben betöltött szerepét és egyben különleges, ösztönző és magával ragadó módon ismerteti a már említett klasszikus fogásokat.

Ki mondta, hogy a főzés csak a felnőttek dolga lehet? Heston Blumenthal, a zseniális séf biztosan nem; éppen ellenkezőleg, arra bíztat mindenkit, hogy ha csak lehet, vonjuk be a főzésbe a kicsiket is. A "Főz a család" bebizonyítja, hogy a konyha nemcsak a felnőttek birodalma, s hogy nincs annál szórakoztatóbb, mint amikor az egész család együtt gondolja ki az ételeket, közösen vásárolják meg a hozzávalókat, és együtt készítik el az ebédet. Már maga az alapötlet is kiváló, hiszen a közös ételkészítés igazán meghitt és szórakoztató program, ami ráadásul nemcsak a szülőket, hanem a gyerekeket is kreativitásra ösztönzi. Blumenthal olyan, felnőtteknek szóló ízvilágot és technikákat ajánl, amelyeket a gyerekek is izgalmasnak találnak. Ételei ízletesek és hatásosak, pedig némelyikük elképesztően egyszerű. A könyv a hasznos receptek kincsestára, értőn és érzékenyen, a kicsik számára is érthetően elmagyarázva - hogy a közös főzés igazi, felhőtlen örömforrássá váljon.

Until now, home cooking has remained stubbornly out of touch with technological development but Heston Blumenthal, champion of the scientific kitchen, changes all that with this radical book. With meticulous precision, he explains what the most effective techniques are and why they work. Heston's instructions are precise and easy to follow, with lots of helpful tips, and each chapter is introduced with an explanation of Heston's approach to 1) Stocks 2) Soups 3) Starters 4) Salads 5) Meat 6) Fish 7) Sous-vide 8) Pasta and grains 9) Cheese 10) Sides and condiments 11) Ices 12) Desserts and sweets 13) Biscuits, snacks and drinks. Recipes include Green bean and radish salad; Prawn cocktail; Roast chicken; Shepherd's pie; Sea bass with vanilla butter; Liquorice poached salmon; Carbonara; The ultimate cheese toastie; Strawberry sundae; Liquid centre chocolate pudding and Raspberry sherbert. And, of course, Heston's famous Triple-cooked chips. Heston Blumenthal at Home will change the way you think about cooking forever - prepare for a culinary revolution!

British gastronomy has a grand old tradition that has been lost over time. Now our most inventive chef is out to reclaim it. Heston Blumenthal, whose name is synonymous with cutting-edge cuisine, still finds his greatest source of inspiration in the unique and delicious food that our sceptered isle once produced. This has been the secret to his success at world-famous restaurants The Fat Duck and Dinner, where a contrast between old and new, modern and historic, is key. Historic Heston charts a quest for identity through the best of British cooking that stretches from medieval to late-Victorian recipes. Start with twenty-eight historic dishes, take them apart, put them together again and what have you got? A sublime twenty-first-century take on delicacies including meat fruit (1500), quaking pudding (1660) and mock turtle soup (1892). Heston examines the history behind each one's invention and the science that makes it work. He puts these dishes in their social context and follows obscure culinary trails, ferreting out such curious sources as The Queen-like Closet from 1672 (which offers an excellent method for drying goose). What it adds up to is an idiosyncratic culinary history of Britain. This glorious book also gives a unique insight into the way that Heston works, with signature dishes from both The Fat Duck and the double Michelin-starred Dinner. With a beautiful cover illustrated by the genius that is Dave McKean, his illustrations throughout, and some of the most superb food photography you'll ever see, Historic Heston is a book to treasure. You think you know about British cooking? Think again.

With gold edged pages, gold ribbon and gold illustrated cloth slipcase, each signed and numbered special edition is sumptuous and ultra-desirable. Once upon a time there was a Chef called Heston who opened a small restaurant called the Fat Duck. At first, he served only simple French classics but gradually, as is the way of things, the Chef's curiosity got the better of him and he began thinking up more unusual dishes, such as Snail Porridge and Chocolate Wine. Word spread and reached the ears of the Executives who ran a television channel, and they summoned the Chef to their glass fortress. "We command you to create six Fantastical Feasts," they said. "These must be based on history, but you may draw on fairytales and legends. We should warn you that the Quest will involve journeys to Transylvania in search of the legendary Leech Recipe of Sibiu, and to the Black Forest to eat the eyes of the Wild Boar of Munstertal. You must resist the temptations of the Burlesque Girls, and you must turn chocolate cake into a raging fireball and chicken's testicles into jelly beans. There will be hunting for hallucinogenic mushrooms and cooking with Play-Doh. Out of this, you must create the most magical dishes imaginable." "Well, how about lickable wallpaper, a savoury Zoom lolly, a chocolate-covered iceberg, a golden egg and an edible graveyard?" offered the Chef. "It's a start," said the Executives. "Oh, and once you have achieved the Quest, you must bring us proof, in the form of a Book. But not just any Book. We want tales of extravagant ingredients, of revolutionary techniques, of familiar kitchen appliances put to unfamiliar uses. We want to see what you see. Taste what you taste. In short, we want complete and unparalleled access to your fantastical world."

Is this a cookbook? Well, it's full of Heston's typically brilliant, delicious and inventive recipes, including green gazpacho, beetroot and pea salad, quinoa with vegetables, Moroccan pasties, hemp panna cotta, banana and parsley smoothie, tomato and coffee muffins, parsnip granola, rice ice cream, sherry vinegar posset, cricket ketchup and thyme and orange kombucha, not forgetting popcorn chicken with real popcorn. Every recipe is simple, straightforward and totally do-able. This is Heston at his most accessible. But there's so much more. Each of the 70 recipes is accompanied by Heston's thoughts, stories, insights and hacks, turning each cooking session into a journey that'll excite and inspire and reveal a whole world of culinary possibilities and fresh perspectives. Brought to life by the incredible illustrations by Dave McKean, Heston's long-term collaborator and widely acknowledged as one of the greatest illustrators at work today, it's the next best thing to having Heston as your sous-chef. So why not get in the kitchen and have an adventure?