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Fat Duck tops restaurant list again, despite scare

By Helen Abramson on Wednesday 19 August 2009

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The Fat Duck - News - Marie Claire

TV chef Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire topped the tables in the 2010 Good Food Guide, despite being closed down earlier this year after a health scare.

In February, the restaurant was shut for over two weeks after 400 customers reported experiencing stomach bugs. Tests revealed that norovirus, known as the ‘winter vomiting disease’, was to blame. Blumenthal was forced to cancel 800 bookings, making it a difficult and costly setback.

Fat Duck is well known for the chef’s experimental recipes and use of chemistry to create his dishes.

The menu includes a course called ‘Sound of the Sea’, which involves the diner eating smoked fish accompanied by ‘seaweed’ and ‘sand’ while listening to the sound of seagulls on an MP3 player.

Good Food Guide editor Elizabeth Carter said: ‘It is the most extraordinary restaurant in Britain. It is food as theatre, the way the waiters interact with the table, it is like a performance. You are there for four hours while the meal is almost flown, course-by-course, to you.’

Ms Carter added: ‘It's been a tough year for all chefs, but these super chefs are at the top of their game and producing superlative food.’