:The Fat Duck

The Fat Duck is located in a 16th-century cottage that was modified in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was previously a pub, the Ringers. The building was Grade II listed by English Heritage on 2 May 1989.{{NHLE |num=1136208 |access-date=21 September 2012}}

The Fat Duck opened in 1995, staffed only by Blumenthal and a dishwasher. It served meals in the style of a French bistro, such as lemon tarts and steak and chips. Blumenthal said that science had already begun to influence the cooking at this stage, as already on the menu were his triple-cooked chips, which were developed to stop the potato from going soft.{{cite news |date=14 September 2012 |title=Heston Blumenthal: Why snail porridge consumes me |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/world/europe/heston-blumenthal-fat-duck/index.html |access-date=21 September 2012 |work=CNN}} Blumenthal sold his house, his car and many of his possessions to avoid bankruptcy.

After four years, the Fat Duck was awarded its first Michelin star in the 1999 list.{{cite news|last=Bowcott|first=Owen|title=Fat Duck gives Bray something to crow about |newspaper=The Guardian| date= 16 January 2004 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jan/16/foodanddrink|access-date=21 September 2012}} Blumenthal worked with the physics professor Peter Barham of the University of Bristol, and developed a menu of dishes through experimentation such as slow-cooked lamb which avoids shocking the fibres in the meat and causing them to seize. By 2000, techniques were being used such as cooking vegetables in mineral water after discovering that the levels of calcium in tap water causes their discolouration, and freezing cuttlefish to break down the molecules and increase their tenderness.{{cite news |last=Apple Jr. |first=R. W. |date=21 May 2000 |title=New Math: A Chef Adds Science to the Saucepan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/31/dining/new-math-a-chef-adds-science-to-the-saucepan.html?ref=hestonblumenthal |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times}}

File:Hestonregentspark.jpg, the chef proprietor]]In 2001, the Fat Duck was awarded a second Michelin star and was named restaurant of the year by the Automobile Association.{{cite news|title=Caterer and Hotelkeeper 100: Heston Blumental, the Fat Duck, Dinner, the Hind's Head, the Crown|url=http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/01/07/2011/339109/caterer-and-hotelkeeper-100-heston-blumental-the-fat-duck-dinner-the-hinds-head-the-crown.htm|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=Caterer and Hotelkeeper|date=1 July 2011}} In 2002, Blumenthal opened a second restaurant in Bray, the Riverside Brasserie, selling many of the Fat Duck's earlier dishes at reduced prices.{{Cite news |last=Rayner |first=Jay |date=2002-02-24 |title=The Riverside Brasserie, Bray |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/feb/24/foodanddrink.restaurants |access-date=2024-07-01 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

In 2004, the Fat Duck became the third restaurant in the UK to receive three Michelin stars, after the Waterside Inn, also in Bray, and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London.{{cite news|title=Village hogs top restaurants|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/3401501.stm|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=16 January 2004}} It was the fastest that a restaurant had gone from one to three stars in the UK. At the time he received his third star, Blumenthal said it was the closest he had been to bankruptcy, with enough money only to cover the following week's staff wages.{{Cite web |last=Lander |first=Nicholas |date=6 July 2007 |title=Duck that lays the golden egg |url=https://www.ft.com/content/4d62c1a2-2bb5-11dc-b498-000b5df10621 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Financial Times}} Immediately after receiving the third star, the Fat Duck began receiving hundreds of phone calls seeking reservations a day. Blumenthal hired Tony Baker as managing director to help deal with the demand.

In the same year, the Fat Duck was ranked second in the world behind the French Laundry by the World's 50 Best Restaurants.{{cite news|title='Snail porridge' chef's top award|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/3645315.stm|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=21 April 2004}} It also received the title of Square Meal BMW Best UK Restaurant 2004.{{cite web|title=BMW Square Meal Award – Hall of Fame|url=http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/news/bmw-square-meal-award-hall-of-fame|website=Square Meal|publisher=Monomax Ltd|access-date=30 April 2015}} That year, food and safety officers found "borderline" levels of listeria in the foie gras and expressed concern that "no core temperatures of the meat are taken". The Daily Telegraph reported that the Fat Duck dealt with the problem and introduced "stringent procedures."{{cite news |last=Singh |first=Anita |date=27 February 2009 |title=Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck closes over food poisoning scare |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/4863948/Heston-Blumenthals-Fat-Duck-closes-over-food-poisoning-scare.html |access-date=23 June 2019 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}

In 2005, the World's 50 Best Restaurants named the Fat Duck the best restaurant in the world.{{cite web|title=2005 Award Winners|url=http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2005-award-winners/|publisher=The World's 50 Best Restaurants|access-date=21 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027190727/http://www.theworlds50best.com/past-winners/2005-award-winners/|archive-date=27 October 2012|df=dmy-all}} At the first Front of House Awards in 2007, it won the awards for Overall Service and Front Desk of the Year.{{cite news|last=Vines|first=Richard|title=Fat Duck, Le Gavroche Triumph in U.K. Restaurant Service Awards|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQe_1wc0XToY&refer=home|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=8 October 2007}} As of 2007, the Fat Duck employed 32 chefs, with a weekly wage bill of around £35,000. It seated 46 people for lunch and dinner six days a week, with an average spend of around £175 per head and an annual turnover of more than £4 million. Additional income came from books and television. In 2008, Blumenthal published The Big Fat Duck Cookbook.{{cite book |title=The Big Fat Duck Cookbook |date=20 October 2008 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0747583691}}

On 27 February 2009, Blumenthal closed the Fat Duck temporarily after a number of customers reported feeling unwell at different times.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090304225957/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hvmsfD_BDjSGEtoEAtCLWO1W4lfg AFP] By 3 March the source of the outbreak was still unclear but sabotage had been ruled out. A spokesman for the restaurant said "All this leads us to believe that it [the health scare] has not come from the restaurant and we expect to be given the all clear."{{cite news |date=2 March 2009 |title=Fat Duck illness 'not sabotage' |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7919417.stm |access-date=16 May 2009}} On 6 March it was reported that 400 people had stated they had felt unwell after eating at the restaurant.{{cite news |date=6 March 2009 |title=Fat Duck sicknesses rise to 400 |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7927715.stm |access-date=16 May 2009}}

The restaurant reopened on 12 March 2009.{{cite news |date=12 March 2009 |title=Fat Duck reopens after illnesses |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7938102.stm |access-date=16 May 2009}} The cause of the illness was later given by the Health Protection Agency as norovirus, which was thought to originate from oysters which had been harvested from beds contaminated with sewage.{{cite news |author=Wallop, Harry |date=10 September 2009 |title=Fat Duck: sewage-infested oysters to blame for illness says official report |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/6167848/Fat-Duck-sewage-infested-oysters-to-blame-for-illness-says-official-report.html}} The virus was spread further after being contracted by staff members.{{cite news |date=20 March 2009 |title=Infected staff worked at Fat Duck |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7955506.stm |access-date=16 May 2009}} The restaurant was criticised for its cleaning methods and its slow response to the incident. Complaints of illness from customers totalled 529. It was the largest norovirus outbreak ever documented at a restaurant.{{cite news |date=6 December 2011 |title=Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck 'had largest norovirus outbreak' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-16050546 |access-date=21 September 2012}}

On 19 November 2012, Jorge Ivan Arango Herrera and Carl Magnus Lindgren, two senior members of staff, were killed on Chai Wan Road, Hong Kong, in a traffic accident when their taxi was hit by two buses.{{cite web|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=128544&sid=38280402&con_type=3&d_str=20121121&fc=4|title=Celebrity chef identifies taxi victims|first=Beatrice|last=Siu|work=The Standard|date=21 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406132835/http://thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=128544&sid=38280402&con_type=3&d_str=20121121&fc=4|archive-date=6 April 2013|df=dmy-all}} They died along with the taxi driver, Wong Kim-chung. A further 56 people were injured in the accident.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/two-fat-duck-chefs-killed-in-hong-kong-8336280.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/two-fat-duck-chefs-killed-in-hong-kong-8336280.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Two Fat Duck chefs killed in Hong Kong|first= Sam |last= Masters|date=20 November 2012|newspaper=The Independent}} Blumenthal had been in Hong Kong and was travelling in a separate cab at the time of the crash.

On 31 March 2014, Blumenthal announced he would close the Fat Duck for renovations for six months and temporarily relocate it with its entire team to Crown Towers in Melbourne, Australia. During those six months, the Australian restaurant was also named the Fat Duck, after which it was renamed after Blumenthal's London restaurant Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.{{cite web|url=http://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/article/heston-blumenthal-fat-duck-melbourne|title=Heston Blumenthal to Open The Fat Duck in Melbourne|first=Tacey |last= Rychter| publisher= Broadsheet| date= 31 March 2014}} It was the second restaurant with that name, Blumenthal's sixth restaurant and his first restaurant outside of Britain. This temporary closure of the Bray location made the Fat Duck ineligible for assessment for the 2016 Michelin Guide, thus losing its three-starred status. It regained the stars the following year.{{cite news |last1=Hyslop |first1=Leah |date=16 September 2015 |title=Michelin Guide 2016: Japanese restaurants in London win coveted stars |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/news/michelin-guide-2016-winners-announced/ |newspaper=The Telegraph}}{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Saffron |date=3 October 2016 |title=Michelin Guide 2017: The Ritz and London's oldest Indian restaurant win coveted star |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/news/michelin-guide-2017-the-ritz-and-londons-oldest-indian-restauran/ |access-date=3 October 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}} As of 2025, Blumenthal was spending more time at the Fat Duck than he had done over the preceding 20 years, and was preparing a menu for its 30th anniversary.{{Cite news |last=Moshakis |first=Alex |date=2025-03-16 |title='It's part of who I am': Heston Blumenthal on the bipolar diagnosis that saved his life, his journey of self-discovery – and how he finally emerged from his family's shadow |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/mar/16/its-part-of-who-i-am-heston-blumenthal-on-the-bipolar-diagnosis-that-saved-his-life-his-journey-of-self-discovery-and-how-he-finally-emerged-from-his-familys-shadow |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}

The Fat Duck has 14 tables{{cite news |last=Viner |first=Brian |date=18 November 2000 |title=The Fat Duck: The chef's special |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5120688.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125100024/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5120688.html |archive-date=25 January 2013 |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The Independent}} {{Subscription required}} and can seat 42 diners.{{cite news |last=Dixon |first=Rachel |date=15 August 2008 |title=Blumenthal finds perfection at the Fat Duck |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/15/heston.blumenthal |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian}} It has a high proportion of chefs working, 42, equating to one chef per diner. Much of the menu is developed by experimentation: for example, the egg and bacon ice cream came about following Blumenthal investigating the principles of "flavour encapsulation".{{cite news |last=Rayner |first=Jay |date=15 February 2004 |title=The man who mistook his kitchen for a lab |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2004/feb/15/foodanddrink.restaurants |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The Observer}} A research laboratory where Blumenthal and his team develop dishes is two doors away opposite the Hind's Head pub, which he also owns. It was where the majority of the laboratory scenes for the television series Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection were filmed. The lab equipment includes a centrifuge which is used to make chocolate wine, and a vacuum oven.{{cite news |last=Scott |first=Chloe |title=A peek inside Heston's food lab |url=http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/food/130577-a-peek-inside-hestons-food-lab |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906155057/http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/food/130577-a-peek-inside-hestons-food-lab |archive-date=6 September 2011 |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The Metro}} The restaurant takes reservations up to two months in advance, and {{as of|2011|alt=in 2011}} it was receiving some 30,000 calls for reservations per day, although that figure also included people who could not get through and were redialling.{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Zoe |last2=Smithers |first2=Rebecca |date=6 July 2011 |title=Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant gets 30,000 calls a day |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/06/fat-duck-heston-blumenthal |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian}}

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Blumenthal was inspired as a teenager by trips to the Michelin-starred restaurants in France and the work of Harold McGee. McGee's work in particular led him to question traditional cooking techniques and approaches which resulted in combinations which may at first appear unusual. Blumenthal incorporates psychology and the perception of diners into his dishes, explaining, "For example, eat sardine on toast sorbet for the first time, confusion will reign as the brain will be trying to tell the palate to expect a dessert and you will therefore be tasting more sweetness than actually exists."

The Fat Duck serves a tasting menu.{{cite web |title=The Fat Duck |url=http://www.theaa.com/restaurants/bray-the-fat-duck-372893 |access-date=21 September 2012 |work=The Automobile Association}} Dishes served include palate cleansers made of vodka and green tea, frozen in liquid nitrogen,{{cite news |last=Rayner |first=Jay |date=19 October 2008 |title=First, take your snails and your porridge... |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/oct/19/houseandgarden |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The Observer}} a snail porridge described by one food critic as "infamous", and ice creams of both crab, and egg and bacon, each of which drew media attention.{{cite news |last=Ennen |first=Steve |date=1 February 2002 |title=Taking flavor to the molecule |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83668587.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611030915/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83668587.html |archive-date=11 June 2014 |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=Food Processing}} {{Subscription required}} The mock turtle soup has an Alice in Wonderland theme, whereby a fob watch formed of freeze-dried beef stock covered with gold leaf is dropped into a teacup by a waiter, who pours a beef stock "tea" poured over it that dissolves the gold and the watch. A plate of ox tongue and vegetables is served alongside to place into the soup. Toast sandwiches, developed for an appearance on Heston's Feasts, are served as a side dish.{{Cite news |last=Gerard |first=Jasper |date=2009-07-01 |title=Heston Blumenthal: my new Alice in Wonderland menu |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/restaurants/5700481/Heston-Blumenthal-my-new-Alice-in-Wonderland-menu.html |access-date=2020-05-08 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}{{cite web |author=Sarah Rogozen |author-link=Sarah Rogozen |date=31 December 2013 |title=Heston Blumenthal on Recreating Lewis Carroll's Mock Turtle Soup |url=http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2013/12/heston-blumenthal-on-mock-turtle-soup/ |access-date=2014-10-08 |publisher=KCRW}}{{cite news |last=Vines |first=Richard |date=17 August 2008 |title=Fat Duck Meets Mock Turtle in Blumenthal's Lab |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=asLGY9Ht.Jac&refer=muse |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=Bloomberg}} Dishes are served with additional sensory inputs, such as "Sounds of the Sea", a plate of seafood served with a seafood foam on top of a "beach" of tapioca, breadcrumbs and eel. Alongside the dish, diners are given an iPod to listen to crashing waves whilst they eat.{{Cite book |last1=Bacci |first1=Francesca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hiYeaF8bKzkC&q=%22fat+duck%22+%22sounds+of+the+sea%22+ipod&pg=PA227 |title=Art and the Senses |last2=Melcher |first2=David |date=2011-08-04 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-923060-0 |pages=227 |language=en}} Other sensory components include "the smell of the Black Forest" that accompanies a kirsch ice cream.

In 2023, the Fat Duck introduced its 12-dish Sensorium menu, which the Times said was more conventional and "dials down the trickery and sleights of hand". It incorporates new seasonal dishes alongside previous dishes such as the Sound of Sea and A Walk in the Woods ("an edible forest floor of mushrooms, blackberries and beetroot").{{Cite news |last=Turnbull |first=Tony |date=2024-04-18 |title=Less fun, superior food — the Fat Duck is back |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/fat-duck-heston-blumenthal-restaurant-new-menu-5bsctjkfj |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=The Times |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}

Ben Rogers reviewed the Fat Duck for The Independent in 1996, before it had gained any Michelin Stars awards. He discovered that Blumenthal was cooking foie gras in sherry to give it a nutty flavour, but Rogers was not sure if this was warranted. He praised a jambonneau of duck, but found the monkfish rubbery. He described the menu as "awkwardly written, badly punctuated, and at points quite impenetrable".{{cite news|last=Rogers|first=Ben|title=Out for a duck|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4810750.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126224833/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4810750.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 January 2013|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The Independent|date=14 September 1996}} {{Subscription required}} After the Fat Duck received its first Michelin star, David Fingleton visited it for The Spectator in 1999, and wrote that the experience was "beyond reproach; unsullied pleasure from start to finish".{{cite news|last=Fingleton|first=David|title=Restaurant: The Fat Duck and Chez Bruce|newspaper=The Spectator|date=6 March 1999|id={{ProQuest|201295767}}}} {{Subscription required}}

In 2001, Terry Durack reviewed the Fat Duck for The Independent. He was initially hesitant, expecting tricks straight away, but was surprised to find a bowl of normal green olives on the table as he arrived. He did not enjoy a mustard ice cream in a red cabbage gazpacho soup, but described the restaurant as "great" and gave it a score of 17 out of 20.{{cite news|last=Durack|first=Terry|title=Eating Out: Thinking man's crumpet|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5214250.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125081544/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5214250.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 January 2013|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The Independent|date=2 December 2001}} {{Subscription required}} In 2004, following the third Michelin star, Jan Moir of The Daily Telegraph gave it a negative review, saying that "while many of the flavours are politely interesting, the relentless pappy textures of mousses and foams and creams and poached meats really begins to grate".{{cite news|last=Moir|first=Jan|title=Are you ready to order? This week: Fat Duck|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/restaurants/3310690/Are-you-ready-to-order-This-week-Fat-Duck.html|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=31 January 2004}} She also found it overpriced, calling it the "Fat Profit".

Matthew Fort reviewed the Fat Duck for The Guardian in 2005, and wrote that "there is no doubt that the Fat Duck is a great restaurant and Heston Blumenthal the most original and remarkable chef this country has ever produced".{{cite news|last=Fort|first=Matthew|title=A humble pub's extraordinary journey to gastronomic greatness|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/apr/19/foodanddrink.expertopinions|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=19 April 2005}} In The Times, A. A. Gill recommended that people should "eat here at least once to find out what is really going on in your mouth".{{cite news|last=Gill|first=A.A.|title=The Fat Duck|newspaper=The Times|date=17 April 2005|id={{ProQuest|316789754}}}} {{Subscription required}} Also in 2005, the German critic Wolfram Siebeck visited the restaurant and complained of the delays in service and of several of the dishes. He described the mustard ice cream in a red cabbage gazpacho soup as a "fart of nothingness".{{cite news|last=Harding|first=Luke|title=Fat Ducks, farts, foaming green tea and the man from Die Zeit|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/18/germany.britishidentity|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 June 2005}} The chef Nico Ladenis said, "Someone who makes egg and bacon ice cream is hailed a genius. If you vomit and make ice cream out of it, are you a star?" Tony Naylor of The Guardian enjoyed his trip in 2008. He defended the price, likening the occasional purchase of an exceptional meal to spending on entertainment or hobbies.{{cite news|last=Naylor|first=Tony|title=Fat Duck, big bill|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2008/jan/22/bigbillsandgourmetthrills|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 January 2008}} In 2012, Fodor's described the Fat Duck as "extraordinary" and "one of the best restaurants in the country",{{cite web |title=Fat Duck |url=http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/england/the-thames-valley/review-155965.html |access-date=21 September 2012 |work=Fodor's}} and Frommer's gave it three stars, grading it "exceptional".{{cite web |title=The Fat Duck |url=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/windsorandeton/D53154.html |access-date=21 September 2012 |work=Frommer's}}

In 2005, the Fat Duck was ranked first on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. After spending 11 years on the list, it dropped to 73rd.{{cite web

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}} It has been ranked second-best on numerous occasions, first behind the French Laundry and then behind El Bulli.{{cite news|last=Vines|first=Richard|title=El Bulli, Fat Duck Face Challenge|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-04-25/el-bulli-fat-duck-face-danish-challenge-for-top-restaurant-richard-vines.html|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=26 April 2010}} In 2012, it was ranked 13th.{{cite news|last=Butcher|first=Craig|title=13th: The Fat Duck, Bray, UK|url=http://food.uk.msn.com/the-worlds-50-best-restaurants-awards/the-worlds-50-best-restaurants-2012-top-20?page=9|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=MSN Food|date=1 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714152759/http://food.uk.msn.com/the-worlds-50-best-restaurants-awards/the-worlds-50-best-restaurants-2012-top-20?page=9|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}} In 2009, the Fat Duck was the only restaurant to be given a top score of ten out of ten in the Good Food Guide.{{cite news |last=Singh |first=Anita |date=27 February 2009 |title=Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck closes over food poisoning scare |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/4863948/Heston-Blumenthals-Fat-Duck-closes-over-food-poisoning-scare.html |access-date=21 September 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}} The editor of the guide, Elizabeth Carter, wrote: "It's extremely rare that a restaurant cooks perfectly on a consistent basis, but we've had so many superlative reports that we're delighted to recognise the Fat Duck as the best restaurant in Britain." It retained that score through to the 2013 edition.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}} In 2010, it was named the Best UK Restaurant in the Quintessentially Awards, a scheme run by the Quintessentially Group.{{cite news|last=Vines|first=Richard|title=Nobu Berkeley Wins Best Bar, Fat Duck Triumphs in U.K. Awards|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-02/nobu-berkeley-wins-best-bar-fat-duck-triumphs-in-u-k-awards.html|access-date=21 September 2012|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=2 June 2010}}

Gill reviewed the Fat Duck again in 2016, and gave the food five out of five and the atmosphere four. He wrote: "There is not another restaurant anywhere doing anything remotely this brave or this daft. It is so out there, it has left the food section altogether. This is what rocking, unmediated genius tastes like. Hidden under the big top of it all is still some of the finest food in the world."{{Cite news |last=Gill |first=A. A. |author-link=A. A. Gill |date=2024-04-18 |title=Table Talk: AA Gill reviews The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/table-talk-aa-gill-reviews-the-fat-duck-bray-berkshire-cw8g0xp67jc |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=The Sunday Times |language=en |issn=0140-0460}} Reviewing the Fat Duck for the Times in 2023, Tony Turnbull wrote that the menu had become more conventional, with better results: "By messing less with our brains, Blumenthal allows us to focus more on the complexities and multi-tiered flavour of the dishes, faultlessly executed by the head chef Edward Cooke. There we were thinking it was all about the conjuring show, when in fact — who knew? — it was just about putting delicious things in our mouths." Turnbull said his meal was the best of his three visits.

• List of Michelin three starred restaurants
• Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
• The Hind's Head

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite web | url=http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Food/News/2013/09/27/The-Fat-Duck-keeps-three-Michelin-stars.aspx/ | title=The Fat Duck keeps three Michelin stars | work=The Star | date=27 September 2013 | access-date=17 February 2014 | archive-date=27 February 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227060415/http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Food/News/2013/09/27/The-Fat-Duck-keeps-three-Michelin-stars.aspx/ | url-status=dead }}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Official website|https://www.thefatduck.co.uk/}}
• [http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/59 Food Scientist Rachel Edwards Stuart investigates the molecular make up of flavours for Heston Blumenthal]

{{Michelin stars in the UK}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fat Duck}}

Category:1995 establishments in England

Category:Restaurants in Berkshire

Category:Michelin-starred restaurants in the United Kingdom

Category:Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Category:Bray, Berkshire

Category:Molecular gastronomy

Category:Restaurants established in 1995

Category:Former pubs in England

Category:Pubs in Berkshire