You’d think that lunch at The Fat Duck and dinner at Dinner would be enough Heston Blumenthal for one trip to London … but you would be wrong.

Because as we headed for home, we had time for a final Heston Blumenthal meal—in Terminal 2 at Heathrow.

I hate what you’re forced to put up with in airports. Bad Chinese food. Pizza that’s pizza in name only. BBQ that makes me cry … but in the wrong way.

So when I heard back in June that Blumenthal had opened The Perfectionists’ Café at Heathrow, with a wood-fired oven and liquid nitrogen ice cream, I knew that’s where we had to have our last meal in London. (more…)

Here it is, nearly October, and I’m about to recap a meal I had in the middle of August. Normally I’d let it go, but not when we’re talking about Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, currently ranked as the #5 restaurant in the world. We had lunch at Blumenthal’s other restaurant, The Fat Duck—currently #47 on that same list—a few days before this year’s London Worldcon, and this dinner at Dinner a few days after meant that we bookmarking our trip with Blumenthal.

The way the two restaurants differ is that the Fat Duck is like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, filled with tricks and over-the-top presentations, such as a mock turtle soup prepared by dissolving a gold watch in front of you, or a seafood course eaten to beach sounds piped in from an iPod-stuffed shell. But though Dinner also displays culinary magic, it’s instead in the way it serves homages to dishes throughout history, everything from Frumenty (circa 1390) to Tipsy Cake (circa 1810).

Here was my view from the six-person Chef’s Table, which I shared with Graham Sleight, David Shaw, and Diane Martin on my right, and Shana Worthen and my wife on my left.

Visible to my left through a long narrow window was the cold room in which dishes such as the famous meat fruit were prepared. These—not ours—were in the kitchen awaiting final plating as we took our seats. A series of them being brought to others tantalized us, for we wouldn’t receive ours until three dishes in. (more…)

I’ve often told you that I’m never quite sure these days whether the highlight of the many conventions I attend is the conventions themselves or the destination restaurants I arrange to visit at the same time. Such was the case with Loncon3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention. (Though it was only my personal 27th … and the 40th anniversary of my first, at that!)

Which means I’d arranged to visit The Fat Duck before Loncon3 was to begin. Sadly, United Airlines lost my luggage for two days, which meant that I was unable to wear my purple boating blazer as planned, and was stuck with the casual jacket and jeans I’d worn over on the flight. This caused a bit of anxiety at first, because surely one of the best restaurants in the world deserved a bit of dressing up, but a quick read of The Fat Duck FAQ calmed me down, as it reads:

We do not have a dress code policy at the restaurant – please come along however you feel comfortable.

And so, after picking up a new shirt, socks and underwear (TMI, I know) at a men’s shop near our hotel, Irene and I met David Shaw, Diane Martin, their son, and Graham Sleight at Paddington Station for a train to Maidenhead, followed by a short cab ride to the village of Bray.

We arrived slightly early for our 1:30 lunch, and so wandered the picturesque village for a bit until we could bear to wait no longer. (more…)