Celebrating 30 years of Heston Blumenthal OBE and The Fat Duck
24 February 2026
Thirty years of questioning everything. Thirty years of culinary exploration and extraordinary moments at the dining table.
Heston’s journey began when he was 16, when he went to the three-star L’Oustau de Baumanière and was bowled over by its theatricality and multisensory richness. He began visiting France every summer, translating French cookbooks word by word and cooking the classics over and over.
One day he read in a book that “searing does not seal”, which inspired him to question everything. From that point on, questioning is what Heston has done, revolutionising cuisine and gaining an OBE in the process.
This way of thinking led him to inventing triple-cooked chips in 1993, popularising science in cooking, spearheading molecular gastronomy, pioneering the use of water baths, gellan gum, liquid nitrogen, dry ice, ice filtration and sous-vide cookery, developing the principles behind the flavour pairing movement and multisensory cooking and flavour encapsulation, writing scientific papers, reviving British historical gastronomy (and popping candy), breaking culinary rules and creating many unique modern classics.
When The Fat Duck opened in 1995 as a simple bistro, it marked the beginning of something far greater. Thirty years on, it has become the home of Heston’s legacy, a place where ideas, experimentation, and imagination influence far beyond its walls.
Our Restaurants
Dinner by Heston
London
Historical British gastronomy reimagined to create a spectacular 2-Michelin-star menu in an incredible setting.
Dinner by Heston
Dubai
The one-star sister restaurant of Dinner in London, offering a cutting-edge take on historic British cuisine in a dramatic location.
The Hinds Head
Bray, Maidenhead, Berkshire
The perfect traditional British pub serving exactly the dishes you’d hope for in such a historical place.
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