Emma Heston Blumenthal and his team at the world-famous restaurant The Fat Duck create their most complicated dessert in its 30-year history
For a limited time only guests at three-Michelin-star The Fat Duck can indulge in the restaurant’s most complicated dessert ever created as part of its new a la carte menu.
With tastes of cherry, tobacco, olive, mushroom and leather, the new dessert, which is named ‘Pinot Noir Grape’, is inspired by the wines of one of the most famous and revered vineyards in the world, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), whose wine has been described as ‘The purest, most aristocratic and most intense example of Pinot Noir you could possibly imagine’ (Clive Coates MW).
With at least 20 elements and more than 50 stages in its preparation – including a ‘soil’ made with dark chocolate, truffle, rose, parmesan, vanilla salt and cocoa nibs, and churros dusted with cep mushroom powder – Pinot Noir Grape showcases The Fat Duck’s culinary ambition and attention to detail, and is a typically creative offering for the restaurant’s 30th birthday celebrations this year.
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The foundations of the new dish come from Heston Blumenthal OBE’s 2012 creation Botrytis Cinerea, which expressed the flavour profile of Château d’Yquem dessert wine, and appeared as a challenge for contestants on the finale of MasterChef Australia. This time, however, Heston and his team were inspired to try to capture the richly complex flavours of the Pinot Noir produced at the legendary Domaine de la Romanée-Conti vineyards.
The dish was first revealed at the exclusive Fat Duck-DRC wine event held at the restaurant this July.
The Fat Duck founder Heston Blumenthal OBE said: “My last supper wine would definitely be a glass of Romanée-Conti. Which shows you much I rate it. Trying to recreate the flavour complexity of their wine in a dessert was of course a monumental challenge. But I believe we’ve done exactly that. In a way it’s as if we’ve been training for this dish for 30 years. My head’s teeming with ideas, and the team at The Fat Duck are committed and super-skilled, and we’ve dozens of ground-breaking techniques to draw on, like fluid gels and molecular gastronomy. The result is our most complicated dish – and one of the best. So, for The Fat Duck’s 30th birthday, I don’t need a cake, just a plate of Pinot Noir Grape. And maybe a glass of Burgundy…”
To reserve a table for the À La Carte menu, or for the Journey tasting menu, visit https://thefatduck.co.uk/book-your-ticket
The à la carte menu is priced at £225 for both lunch and dinner.
It is available Wednesday and Thursday for dinner, Friday for lunch only, Sunday for lunch and dinner. Please note: The à la carte menu is not available on Saturdays.
