The Fat Duck - Part 2

There were lots of tricks and lots of themes in the day at The Fat Duck, but they never tipped over to twee-ness. I think that might have been because the themes were well disciplined, contained to just a fraction of the adventure.

For the next dish we moved into "Alice in wonderland" 

Another dish known from TV, a gold pocket watch dissolved to be the stock to pour over the mock turtle soup. It is fun to try a historical dish. 

Again presentation was precise. In the centre of the table was placed a two-tiered sandwich dish, a dish resembling a mad hatters hat. 

The mock turtle soup was good but I loved these barely toasted sandwiches. I have absolutely no idea what they're contents were, it was creamy, it was crunchy. The almost toasted bit was like a sandwich at 4pm on derby day when they have got a little crusty in the heat. Somehow it worked. I had 2.

Somehow I have missed exactly when the bread arrived. When bread is introduced as "our bread chef has been perfecting this bread for a year", you are ready to be impressed - while you fantasize about a job where you get to spend a year perfecting a recipe.

Apparently the bread was an Italian "burnt spelt" bread. It was dark in colour but light in feel. The crust was crunchy but not too crunchy. Those in the know at our table said the positioning of the wholes showed perfection in proving. 

And the butter, the butter was worthy of being eaten with a spoon.

It was so hard to resist the offering of a second piece but I knew stomach space was at a premium for the final parts of the menu, so I was strong. 

Then the iPod and headphones arrived, it was time for "Sounds of the Sea"

With so much coverage, you wondered whether this dish would live up to expectations. It did. 

There is something magical about popping on the headphones and hearing the ocean, then the dish arrived. 

Served on glass suspended over a bed of sand and shells, it really did look like a wave had dumped it there.

Abalone and butterfish (nothing like the fish and chip shop butterfish) and samphire and who knows what else. 

The sea foam tastes exactly like that first taste of sea water when you dive into the sea.

Most intriguing though was the sand, looking so much like sand you almost didn't want to try eating it. It tasted great but half the thrill was in sand in your mouth not being gritty. Apparently it was tapioca starch and anchovies. 

Imagine the thought and experimentation that goes into figuring out that tapioca starch and anchovies can get the sand look and a good taste. 

When I got that email that said "you've missed out on a table at the fat duck" I keenly jumped on the "but you're better to spend your money locally" bandwagon. 

I think this course demonstrates why a visiting restaurant with over-subscribed ballot has a place in the local culinary landscape. 

While I have eaten at restaurants of most of the current great Australian chefs and had amazing, expertly executed dishes, none have had every course having this level of development, this level of experimentation. I think having  The Fat Duck here meant we could benefit from the level of investment - time and money - that the small Australian market couldn't support full time. 

Headphones removed and he last scrap of "sand" licked from the glass, sounds of the sea was over.

Next dish looked like pork belly or lamb when it arrived.  A dark square of meat.

But no, it was salmon, salmon poached in a liquorice gel. It was sticky and sweet, but one of the best bits was the little dollops of vanilla mayonnaise, contrasting beautifully with pink grapefruit.

Then it was onto the last savory dish - lamb with cucumber.

Despite it being really, really rare it somehow managed to taste just like an old fashioned roast man would cook - maybe it was forequarter? 

And I'm going to try adding cucumber to the plate next time I serve up a roast.

But it was probably the accompanying items that added to the old fashioned roast taste.

The best mint jelly ever. A crispy, crunchy thing that was really just lamb fat. 

Wow, we were getting full and puffed by this stage. Ready for a change of taste and pace.

Some hot and cold iced tea hit the spot. Cleansing the palate and giving a bit of a break. It tasted a bit bergamot/earl grey style. But also a bit chamomile. 

First sip it was a warm tea, next sip it was icy as the hot tea melted the icy ball. Then you got a mouthful with both hot and cold. And your mind was blown.

It also seemed to be something to pep you up for the home stretch. 

Then it was the first dessert "botrytis cinerea" or noble rot. 

It looked like a bunch of grapes, every grape a different flavour and a different temperature. The bit that looked like a stalk was like a salty pretzel. 

Amazing to work your way through a dish where every spoonful was a different taste.

Of the bunch my favourite was the green one that looked more like an olive or a grape. 

Tapped with the spoon, it was a tinted white chocolate, inside there was caramel, honeycomb and popping candy, of course.

Well after all that food what else would you be thinking of but.....breakfast. It was now time for breakfast. 

At just the perfect time, coffee was offered, yet another example of the precision timing. 

I'm kicking myself that I missed a photo of the espresso cups. They were gorgeous. 

Then a tray arrived with a bowl, a cereal box and a small container of milk. 

This was the puzzle part. Inside the box was a piece for the puzzle and the cereal. 

The cereal looked like cornflakes and tasted more like honey with, again, of course, popping candy. 

There was something great about the change of pace that slurping a bowl of cereal gave in such a long meal. 

But there was more to breakfast, a great deal of "cooking implements" were wheeled up to the table and cooking of the not-so-full English breakfast began. 

More liquid nitrogen our eggs were prepared.

French toast with the thinnest, crisp of  candied prosciutto. On top the scrambled egg icecream. So good. 

We knew we were nearing the end.  We were full. Talk started to turn to espresso martinis afterwards. The room was emptying and the staff started to actually chat. As I was dining with hospitality people they were intrigued that the service for most of the meal was more theatrical than interaction. It was only in these last stages some staff started to chat. The sommelier planning to visit Bendigo during his time in Australia, he was especially keen to visit Balgownie and Blackjack. 

Of all the staff (and we lost count), we came across only one Australian. He had been a manager at Dinner by Heston in London and had was asked if he would like to return to Australia for this. 

But there was a little bit more to go before we departed. Whisky gums. Served stuck to a map in a frame showing where the whisky came from. A firey shot to finish.

There were some little touches thatade the difference, like the sommelier writing out the long list of wines we had.

The there were the sweeties to take home.

All in all the most amazing Saturday afternoon. Was it the best meal ever - certainly in the top 5. 

It's actually been hard to eat today - I've never experienced that before, sure some is a little bit seedy from the wines, some is a food hangover where you just feel like you are a lot. But mainly it feels like my tastebuds have been totally assaulted and things just don't taste the same. 

I was so lucky being able to go - special thanks to the friends who made that happen.