The Fat Duck

[Flying Fox]

Introduction

I would firstly like to say thanks to everyone who contributes here and has supplied knowledge on travelling to and around London. I have asked a fair few questions and all the responses have been very helpful and have made my holiday even better.

Once I get all my pics sorted (and I find some more free time), I intend to post a trip report.

This story starts with the fact that me and the Mrs have never been to London/Europe. Been to other places but never made it to these places. So we finally booked a trip (it was my gift to the Mrs for her 40th b'day).

As part of this, I wanted to take her to The Fat Duck (somewhere I have always wanted to go). So exactly two months before our London holiday started, I got online to play The Fat Duck reservations game. After much trying I was about to give up hope but some 15mins after reservations opened, I scored a dinner table. I have never typed my details and credit card information into a web page as fast as that night. I waited about 1 minute to receive an email confirmation. I immediately printed this off and sat for a few minutes just to take it all in.

Yes, I had a confirmed booking for The Fat duck! Yippie

Dinner Time

Booked a car with GPS to drive out to Bray and home again (approx 1 Hour each way). Train is an option to get out there but there are no services home once dinner is finished. So here is a report on my dinner at The Fat Duck for other foodies who are on this forum.

My first sign of The Fat Duck. I couldn't wait to start dinner.

The logo is everywhere.

First Course - Dehydrated beetroot ball with crème fraiche

 

[Flying Fox]

This lovely lady comes out to your table to make the Second Course - Nitrogen Poached Aperitifs – Vodka and Lime Sour OR Gin and Tonic OR Tequila and Grapefruit.

I selected the Tequila and Grapefruit option and it was amazing. The flavour cleared the palate and nose and seemed to fill my brain with these taste sensations. Totally amazing.

I have attached more pics of the process that she goes through at the table.

 

[Flying Fox]

Third Course – Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream

An amazing dish that was was full of flavour. The soup was cool with incredibly finely chopped cabbage with an even colder ice cream that made the flavours pop in your mouth.

 

[boomy]

Looks interesting. How many courses for this degustation?

 

[Flying Fox]

Fourth Course – Jelly of Quail, Crayfish Cream, Chicken Liver Parfait, Oak Moss and Truffle Toast

So many components to this course to make it was it is.

Inside each container is a thin film that you place on the tongue that makes your mouth taste like the smokey flavour that comes with smoked oysters/ham etc etc.

The truffle toast that was brilliant. The toast was firm, crispy and full of truffles that I couldn't help but love. I've had truffles shaved on top of pasta etc but this toast was so much better to bring out the woody truffle flavour.

Jelly of Quail, Crayfish Cream and Chicken Liver Parfait components.

 

[Flying Fox]

And now for the show

The staff come and pour some magic liquid over the moss and the whole wooded, smoked, moss smell floods over the table and all the components that they have just laid out.

If you closed your eyes whilst eating all the components, you would swear that you were eating a forest floor (if it was possible to eat a forest floor that tasted amazing)

 

[get me outta here]

They all look very intriguing and looking forward to seeing the rest. The slight asymmetry of the first two dishes had me reaching to shift them into the centre of the presentation.

 

[Flying Fox]

Looks interesting. How many courses for this degustation?

Total of 16 from start to finish. Bread excluded.

 

[get me outta here]

Is this a live thread, if so, don't eat the bread!

 

[Flying Fox]

They all look very intriguing and looking forward to seeing the rest. The slight asymmetry of the fist two dishes had me reaching to shift them into the centre of the presentation.

I totally understand. I didn't notice it at dinner but when I looked at my pics, I had the same reaction.

Everything seemed so perfectly placed that night that I'm guessing that they had a reason for the placement being the way that it was.

 

[Flying Fox]

Is this a live thread, if so, don't eat the bread!

No, my dinner was August 2014.

Here is a pic of the bread for your reference.

 

[Flying Fox]

Fifth Course – Snail Porridge with Iberico Bellota Ham and Shaved Fennel

A very interesting dish that had a lot more volume then expected. The dish was quite deep and it interlocked with the wooden base plate. The snail flavour was very french and subtle.

Silly me with my Asian cultural back ground expected this to be an Asian rice based porridge but it was based on western porridge (ie. oats).

 

[Flying Fox]

Sixth Course – Scallop in Almond Milk

These have to be the largest scallops that I have ever had. They were trimmed in a very unusual angular shape vs leaving the scallops whole and round. They were very fresh and meaty with a very delicate flavour.

 

[get me outta here]

The bread looks a bit mundane.

No, my dinner was August 2014.

Here is a pic of the bread for your reference.

 

[Flying Fox]

Seventh Course – Roast Foir Gras, Gooseberry, Confit Kombu and Crab Biscuit

I have only had Foir Gras once before and it wasn't amazing. This dish was great in that it was very well balanced with both flavour and texture. It was both soft and cruchy, fatty and tart (gooseberry really cut through the fatty Foir Gras that seemed much less greasy from my previous experience. A very tasty dish indeed.

 

[mannej]

Excuse me while I go off to like each of the previous posts in this thread. Looks amazing!

 

[Flying Fox]

The bread looks a bit mundane.

Sourdough bread.

The butter was something special/fancy but I don't recall the details.

 

[dodgeyhack]

Is this a live thread, if so, don't eat the bread!

What??? Don't listen to him!
We both had about six slices of bread... it was so good, and the butter!!! wow.
I'm jealous... I want to go back.

 

[opusman]

Interesting that you were able to book online. When mrsOpusman & I went a few years ago it was telephone bookings only, which is not the best from Australia...

 

[Plutonus]

Forest is popular food these days... plenty of it when I went to Noma in May!