Heston Blumenthal Constructs
Contextual Cheer
By Heather Sperling and Will Blunt
February 2007
It’s easy to imagine Heston Blumenthal as a kid in a candy
store, reaching fingers into jars and asking for a taste with the
same restlessly inquisitive and playful approach that distinguishes
his kitchen today. So it’s apt that Blumenthal made a sweetshop
the theme of his new project, an interactive website designed to
engage, educate and excite The Fat Duck’s diners
– all before they’ve even stepped foot in the restaurant.
The Sweetshop bag: Pine Sherbet Fountain, Coconut Baccy and "Like
a Kid in a Sweetshop," A Nostalgic Aroma At Madrid Fusion 2007, Blumenthal greeted attendees with 3-d glasses
and an introduction to his philosophy, stating: “If there’s
one thing I’d like a customer to say, it’s that they
had fun – this is the emotion that counts.” The sweetshop
is a contextual metaphor for what he hopes to achieve within the
walls of his restaurant, and an explanation of the ways in which
he does it. After making a reservation, a prospective diner will
receive access to the Fat Duck Sweetshop, an interactive online
world designed to introduce them to the restaurant by way of dishes
and candies that play on the main tenants of Blumenthal’s
philosophy – context, contrast and synesthesia.
“It’s
using your time to generate excitement, because you’re much
more likely to have fun if you’re excited. I want people rubbing
their hands in glee.”
Heston Blumenthal Speaking at Madrid Fusion
Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which multiple senses
overlap – letters and tones are perceived as colors, or words
as palpable tastes. Blumenthal uses the term to refer to the inextricable
connection of senses to experience. For years he has been interested
in the external sensory triggers that shape a dining experience
– from the multi-sensory process of flavor perception (he
found that the sound of sizzling accentuates the bacon flavor perceived
in bacon-egg ice cream) to the way context effects taste (a Muscadet
tastes better on a picnic in the Loire Valley than back in one’s
London flat). Blumenthal cites experiments that test the effects
of sounds, colors and smells on the perception of flavor and texture;
the findings of these experiments can be experienced firsthand on
his restaurant’s tables. A current dish, for example, evokes
the sea through multi-sensory clues – edible approximations
of surf and sand are paired with seafood and sounds of the sea delivered
to the guest via iPod.
Apple Pie Caramel with an Edible Wrapper and Malic Acid
But before the restaurant comes the Sweetshop, whose virtual shelves
hold candies that represent the playful ways Blumenthal’s
philosophies come to life. An apple pie caramel comes with a temptingly
Alice in Wonderland-style tag (“eat all of me,” it demands),
and an edible wrapper laced with malic acid that generates saliva
and heightens the apple flavor. “Coconut Baccy,” a ubiquitous
English sweet, is actually infused with Black Cavendish Tobacco.
After the meal, the diner is presented with a pink and white-striped
bag of the same candies they selected while browsing the shelves
of the virtual sweetshop. And so the experience comes full circle,
referencing the first moments of The Fat Duck adventure,
which began not when the diner walked in the door, but when they
made the reservation.
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