Heston Blumenthal revealed that he found for airline food ‘absorbing’
(Picture: Getty)Chef Heston Blumenthal may be known for his pioneering molecular gastronomic creations but the culinary star has surprisingly revealed he has a penchant for airline food.
The 56-year-old set the food industry alight with his snail porridge, scrambled egg and bacon ice cream as well as Alice In Wonderland-inspired mock turtle soup at his Berkshire restaurant the Fat Duck.
Despite tantalising tastebuds with his unique flavour combinations, it appears that Blumenthal enjoys his meals sky-high and with a side of plastic cutlery.
He told the Daily Mail: “A while back, I took a plane journey during which I was served an airline meal. A tray with something savoury, something sweet, plastic cutlery, sachets of salt and pepper … it was utterly absorbing.”
Considered the Willy Wonka of the fine-dining world, Blumenthal recently discussed the loneliness he felt at the height of his success.
The Michelin-starred chef, who owns the Fat Duck and Hind’s Head in Bray, and Dinner in London, said he was driven by a need to “keep on, keep on, keep on”, which led to him feeling “lost”.
He told The Times: “I was in London, in a big kitchen with loads of people, and then out from the kitchen into that sort of media world surrounded by people, but I look back and I was really lonely.
“I didn’t think I was lonely at the time, and people would say, ‘He’s got all this, and can do all this and do all that’, but actually it was not what was really at the heart of what drove me.”
Blumenthal said his ambition to always achieve the best awards and accolades was “unconsciously building a monster” without realising it.
“After the third Michelin star in 2004, I thought, ‘I don’t know why I got this. What happens if I lose it?’” he explained.
In 2018, the culinary star moved to France after he tired of the industry, but it did little to help him fall in love with cooking again intially.
Four years on from his move, he said he only rediscovered his passion for it six months ago and has released a cookbook earlier this month, titled Is This a Cookbook?.
