UK trip, Dec 2008 - The Fat Duck, Bray (Part 2)

Due to the number of photos, I have decided to write about my Fat Duck experience in 3 posts. I will talk about the "main courses" in this part.


Snail Porridge - Jabugo Ham, Shaved Fennel
2007 Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine de Beaurenard (France)

The snail porridge is one of The Fat Duck's signature dishes.

Pieces of snails were served on a bed oat porridge which is cooked with a parsley/ garlic/ butter sauce. Then little silvers of Joselite ham goes in the middle and the whole thing was topped off with ribbons of marinated fennel

The porridge was smooth and creamy. The snail was tender and the marinated fennel added some sourness and texture to an overall excellent dish

Roast Foie Gras "Bemzaldehyde" - Almond Fluid Gel, Cherry and Chamomile
2004 Pinot Gris, Rolly Gassmann, Alsace (France)

First of all, let's go through the science. According to Wiki:

Bemzaldehyde (C₆H₅CHO) is a chemical compound consisting of a benzene ring with an aldehyde substituent. At room temperature it is a colourless liquid with an almond-like odour.

So, the dish is not just about the taste of almond, but also the scent of almond.

The presentation of the dish was beautiful and the flavour combination was also very good. The foie gras was very creamy and it seems that this has something to do with the way the foie gras was cooked. We noticed that even though the foie gras is roasted, it was only warm. The reason? According to one website, "The foie gras is bought frozen and cooked frozen. First the foie is seared and then put in the oven and turned every 2 minutes, each time sprayed with liquid nitrogen so that the outside doesn’t get too hot but the heat continues to go through it." That seems like a lot of work just to get the foie gras warm! :-P

"Sound of the Sea"
Sake, Shibouritate, Tatsuuma-Honke, Hyogo (Japan)

This dish comes with a sake instead of normal wine.

Additionally, we also each got a conch shell with an iPod tucked inside, playing the "sounds from the sea": sound of the waves hitting the shores and the sound of the seagulls flying by (which makes me want to duck! hahaha)

Then the real food came on the glass surface of a long wooden. It looks like a huge mess in the photo but I supposed there is some order in the chaos. The waiter said the mess contains a few types of seaweed, tapioca (in a crunchy, powdered form), calms, cockles and oysters and shellfish foam. I think this is a very delicious dish, but I can see that it may be a bit fishy for others

Salmon porached in Liquorice Gel - Artichoke, Vanilla Mayonnaise and "Manni" Olive Oil
2001 Quinta da Leda, Casa Ferreirinha, Douro Valley (Portugal)

This is such a pretty dish. It is like an artwork. The specks of pink grapefruit, vanilla mayonnaise and olive oil.

After doing some research on the dish, I found that"Manni” olive oil is supposed to be the world’s best (of course also the most expensive!!) olive oil.

I also read that the liquid nitrogen was used to freeze the grapefruit and the endocarps can be separated with simple hammer blow. So they don't need to have a person sitting there all day, whose job is only to tease apart the grapefruit.

After the plate landed on my table, the waiter then grated licorice over the salmon at the table. The buttery salmon tasted almost like sashimi. It melted in my mouth and I absolutely love the taste and texture. I usually hate licorice but this ended up being OK. This dish reminds me of Tetsuya's signature salmon dish and although this dish is more visually pleasing than Tetsuya's, I prefer Tetsuya's version more.

Interval

Well, it wasn't a real interval as per the menu. I had a comfort break and since SP has took a few photos, I thought it makes sense to put them in the right order.

The waiter was very attentive and as soon as I stand up, he went to the kitchen and told them to hold our next course!

The wait staff rushing in and out of the tiny kitchen. The staff are so attentive and they are always so busy. We reckon there is around the same number of staff as the number of guests!

Then it was SP's turn, and I helped myself to some more of their yummy homemade bread and white, salted butter

Ballotine of Anjou Pigeon - Black Pudding "Made to Order", Pickling Brine and Spiced Juices
2005 Tokara, Merlot/ Cabernet Sauvignon/ Petit Verdot, Stellenbosch (South Africa)

The sous vide pigeon sat next to a blood pudding. The pigeon was tender but the form seems to been redundant. I think this guys like their science experiences too much :-P

That's the end of the main courses.