Heston Blumenthal waits with baited breath as the environmental health investigation into the reason dozens of people fell ill after dining at his infamous restaurant The Fat Duck continues.
Test results from possible culprits including food samples, kitchen equipment, waiters and chefs will be available in batches released today and tomorrow. If given the all clear The Fat Duck could be open for business as soon as Wednesday but for the time being the timescale is unknown as the investigation is still being carried out. The 42 year old chef has vowed to “exhaust every avenue” before opening the restaurant’s doors again.
The restaurant, based in Berkshire, was closed last week with 450 cancelled reservations and lost revenue of up to £80,000 after over 30 diners phoned to report symptoms of food poisoning over a three week period including vomiting, diarrhoea and flu-like side effects.
As well as food poisoning, another possible reason for the diners falling ill could be the result of contracting a virus from a member of staff. Oliver Wheeler - Blumenthal’s spokesman, yesterday assured the public that Windsor and Maidenhead council’s microbiological tests were “very thorough”.
Blumenthal also has his own group of experts on the case - Food Alert - who are scrutinising and testing the menu at his three-Michelin-star restaurant, which is famous for serving weird and wonderful dishes such as nitro green tea and salmon poached in liquorice.
Mr Wheeler said, “We are waiting to see what comes back. All the tests that are back proved negative in terms of hygiene. Although there have been hundreds of hours of testing, nothing has been connected to the restaurant.”
The suggestion by a Sunday newspaper that the outbreak could have been caused by a vengeful group of villagers in Bray who in the past have complained about noise and fumes, was disregarded as Wheeler.
People from all over the globe travel far and wide just to dine at The Fat Duck which among its accolades include an award for world’s best restaurant in 2005 as well as being the only British entry to get 10 out of 10 in the current Good Food Guide.
Gossip among foodies has been rife, with some theories that the odd food combinations was to blame for the illnesses.
One reader wrote on The Independent website, “Surely, diners who consider snail porridge an acceptable feast must be used to a variety of drastic stomach and bowel reactions?”
Some chose the pigeon dish as the main culprit but another reader dismissed this saying, “It was not the pigeon. We both ate there last week and were both violently sick on Sunday, with Monday off work. My friend doesn’t like pigeon so didn’t eat it. Therefore it isn’t the pigeon.”
On a different website, a reader wrote, “I went to The Fat Duck for the first time last month. Of course I didn’t walk through the kitchen but the place looked spotless and the food was better than I ever expected,” and further said the food was “playful and thought-provoking”.
The negative media attention could not have come at a worse time for Blumenthal as his new Channel 4 show, Heston’s Victorian Feast, will be aired tomorrow amongst concern over a possible backlash of lowered viewer ratings.
