The Fat Duck (very long)

Thanks for taking the time to post such a comprehensive report - all of which I echo & agree with from our visit a few months ago.

I'll amplify/comment on a couple of points:

My brother & I both decided to have the

One of our party does not drink red wine (migraines) so had the Champagne Tasting menu instead - and was not disappointed!

Breathe out as you crunch and the table disappears in a puff of "nitrogen smoke" and the rest of the part convulses in laughter!

We spent the whole meal spotting the "joke" or "play" in each course.

The two jellies on was good but also the tiny tiny cubes of Almond flavoured jelly (no bigger than a match head) which exploded into a head filling explosion of flavour was the favourite on our table

Agree on both - though to be fair matching with any wine would have been difficult

!

A great example of Heston not taking himself too seriously. He has said that if he had called it "Fricassee d'escargot with Barley Risotto" it would have been hailed as triumph instead of curiosity

Ahhhh, the almond gel!

This was the one are we thought the menu had wrong. Unanimously we thought the dish it self was "off the pace" of the rest of the meal BUT paired with the Sake it was superb, the combination was truly perfect. Our view was that the Sake should be served as part of the dish not an addition in the wine menu. .

150% agreement. Very much a Love it or Hate it experience with little scope for the middle ground

Snap!!! We are already planning another trip. Which will be our third. Set lunch the first time, tasting menu recently , a la carte next time. It is

*that* good!

Not the same on the two lunch times we have eaten there. 50/50 split at a guess.

pk

Great report, thanks Ian. Sorry Jacquie had to miss that!

Are you going for El Bulli next?

Couple of wines notes:

"2002 Savennieres ....a difficult year, where the challenge was to get enough balancing acidity."

Really? My impression was that 2002 was a knockout year in Savennieres, the first since '96/'97 that combined good ripeness and good acidity. Certainly the Baumard and Closel wines shone.

"2001 La Grola IGT from the Veneto, made by Allegrini. The dominant grape was Vermentino, (I think, though I have just been met with blank stares when I asked for confirmation)."

Hmmm, the blank stares were probably because Vermentino is a white wine grape. I'm pretty sure La Grola is all or mostly Corvina. :)

Great report, glad to have you back posting.

Two calendar months. Applied very strictly.

When I booked a few months ago I sat redialling for 90 minutes before getting through!

pk

So were all of us. however, she's better, and I think it's likely that as a consolation, we'll all be going to HB's hotel/pub there to see what his take is on trad british food.

No. This was fascinating, but as far out as I want to go. As Michael T knows, I do prefer the food to sing of the ingredients, and in this type of cooking, it sings more of the interest one can get in matching unusual pairings.

No, I'm a dumbo. it was the 2003. Sorry. But it was lovely.

Oh - bums, I wish I'd made a note from the bottle. I'm not up on italian grape varieties at all, and I didn't think to note it down. Maybe the Vermentino was a minor player, or maybe I'm simply raving.

Thanks very much. I have to say that although I read regularly, I really have so little to contribute about many of the threads about wines of which I'm almost totally ignorant, that I don't feel I should bore you with my irrelevancies and inaccuracies!

2 months on the nose, as for TFL. my brother Tony managed to get a reservation without any trouble, however.

Have I misused the word? Oops Yes I have. (By the way, I heartily recomend reading Wikepedia on the true meaning of the word. Fascinating). What I meant to say was that it was an act of faith for me to believe that no wine should be served with ice cream and that top German wines are best served alone I was referring to these quasi religious beliefs which was shattered by my experience tasting the match.

Serves me right for trying to be clever!

"Ian Hoare" wrote .............

Ian, after such a mouthwatering review, you are forgiven.

Hopefully you will tune in to afw sometime in the next few days - The Lady Kathryn and I extend to both you and [the now recovered] Mme. Jacquie our very very best wishes for the festive season, from the Antipodes, where we are bathing in summer sunshine.

We are heading off to Kawau Island [remember?] for Xmas luncheon on the deck, overlooking the cove [ Metrosideros in full flower!] with Brian and Chic - I shall drink a glass of champagne to your excellent health.

Best wishes

A