Food critic Gary Hanna has described Heston Blumenthal's £455 Christmas meal at the Fat Duck as 'mad', after experiencing the three Michelin-starred restaurant's festive menu. The meal, inspired by an advent calendar, features a series of unconventional dishes designed to surprise and challenge diners.
Hanna, who documented his visit on his GaryEats YouTube channel, began with an 'aerated beetroot' sphere intended to prepare the palate. The service was playful, with a waiter joking about ingredients including 'John Deere tractors'. Hanna called the overall experience 'weird' and 'mad'.
Highlights included a 'snowball' cocktail with an egg dipped in liquid nitrogen, a 'golden carrot' that turned into beef-flavoured drink, and a 'Christmas Sandwich' containing prawn cocktail and a crispy wafer. The main course, 'The King's Venison', inspired by William the Conqueror, was served with 'umbles' – a traditional offal dish that gave rise to the phrase 'humble pie'. Hanna found the venison 'unbelievable'.
The meal concluded with a 'sweet shop' featuring an animatronic dollhouse with 48 compartments of surprises. Despite the high cost, including £21 for a glass of white wine, Hanna admitted the dishes, though 'wacky', worked well together.
