Towards the end of last year, Black & White whisky’s packaging changed. The familiar monochrome terriers remained, but the limited-edition box from the house of Diageo was reimagined as a recipe book — with inputs from Heston Blumenthal. The British chef is best known for his three Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck (in Bray, outside London), but also, as he often puts it, for “playing around with people’s expectations at the dining table [think ‘Meat Fruit’, a chicken liver and foie gras parfait encased inside a ‘peel’ of mandarin orange jelly]”. And he doesn’t disappoint with this collaboration either.
“The versatility of Black and White meant that it is a whisky that would inspire me creatively,” he says, explaining how, unlike other recent collabs — such as the one with Australian burger chain Grill’d, to create the mushroom-based Fable Burger — he met with the team in India and developed and launched an online resource.
The ‘Journal of Sharing’ features some of his signature dishes and cocktail ideas, alongside contributions from Indian chefs, such as chefs Kunal Kapur and Amninder Sadhu, and Masterchef India winner Shipra Khanna. “For example, the black cumin seed and honey Old Fashioned we’ve created is a wonderful reimagining of the classic whisky cocktail, which we pair with mushroom cashews [cashew nuts roasted with porcini powder]. Delicious!” The journal has now been opened up to everyone with a dish to share.
Facing fear with science and a stove
The timing is ideal — you can add to the cache of kitchen and bar experiments that the pandemic encouraged the homebound to undertake. “Cooking and eating can take you down so many rabbit holes of discovery,” says the 55-year-old. “I have been lucky to discover so many wonderful things through food and just following my senses.”
How does one hone that skill? “It’s something that I have developed as a technique for myself and my teams of chefs. It requires attention and awareness. You must train yourself of course, and it takes practice, but it’s a lot like meditation and attention to breathing. By focusing on each sense as they engage, you can listen to them without distraction and learn from them as you process the food or drink you are eating.” This comes through in Blumenthal’s dishes like the Sound of the Sea, which integrates a hidden iPod to heighten the dish’s experience.
Given his repertoire of dishes, each inventive, how does he develop his recipes? “My way is to explore many avenues and surround myself with people from different places and experiences. Fear is often an impediment to creativity, but when you are doing your research with a team it can help you get over that fear of failure.”
A limited edition Chef Heston Blumenthal’s Secret Recipe Journal pack (₹2,500) comes with a bottle of Black & White Scotch and exclusive cocktail and food recipes. A QR code will also take consumers to the website, socialgoat.in/BlackAndWhiteJournalOfSharing.
