Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck to introduce ‘more accessible’ à la carte menu

Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck will introduce a “more accessible” à la carte menu, as part of its 30^th birthday celebrations.

It will be the first time the acclaimed three-Michelin-star restaurant will offer an à la carte menu in almost 20 years.

As the restaurant looks to celebrate the anniversary from 5 February it will launch an à la carte menu alongside a new version of its Journey tasting menu.

The à la carte menu will be priced at £195 for lunch and £225 for dinner. The journey tasting menu is priced at £295.

The seasonal à la carte menus will feature four starters, four main courses and three desserts including some of Blumenthal’s most well-known dishes, such as snail porridge, crab risotto and bacon and egg ice cream.

Blumenthal said: “The Fat Duck is not just a restaurant, it’s a doorway to a world of insights and surprises and emotions. And I’ve always wanted as many people as possible to experience that. I’m excited that, with the reintroduction of à la carte, we can be more accessible to more people during this special anniversary year.”

The chef said that the anniversary year would see some of the dishes the restaurant became famed for return to menus as it celebrates, before being consigned to history as the team looks to the restaurant’s future.

Blumenthal added: “I’m incredibly proud that The Fat Duck has been at the forefront of culinary creativity for fully 30 years. It’s a big birthday and a big moment in our history and I wanted us to celebrate those achievements but also bid adieu to them as we explore where the Fat Duck might go next. 

“There’s a quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that has always stayed with me: ‘Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.’ Some of the dishes at The Fat Duck – such as orange and beetroot jelly – have found that perfect form, and this birthday is the ideal time to showcase that and then set them aside and concentrate on perfecting other dishes, creating new ones and continuing to explore and experiment with every aspect of cooking and serving food. Maybe we’ll take some of these dishes on the road one day, but for now they become part of my hall of fame.”