World's best chef on campus
Monday, 08 March 2010
Heston Blumenthal filming for his TV series 'feast'
Heston adds his own modern touches to his historic recipes to turn them into exciting 21st century cooking using such things as plumes of dry ice and pyrotechnic explosions
‘The essential aspect of Heston's approach to his enterprise is his use of food science and chemistry. He is recognised as the leading authority on 'molecular gastronomy' the relationship between chemical and physical properties of food and its presentation and perception by humans,' said Professor Don Mottram from Food and Nutritional Studies.
During his visit Heston was filmed for the next series of his television programmes, ‘Feast' in which he scientifically reconstructs inventive back-to the future banquets using forgotten flavours, textures and tastes. More than simply recreating the past, Heston adds his own modern touches to his historic recipes to turn them into exciting 21st century cooking using such things as plumes of dry ice and pyrotechnic explosions.
Dr Mike Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Food and Nutritional Sciences was helping Heston to freeze-dry the 1980's classic ice cream desert, Viennetta. By extracting all the moisture from the Viennetta they were attempting to make the ice cream so light that it might float above the table to the delight of his guests.
Heston has frequent contact with the School of Food Biosciences as he is continually seeking new ways of introducing science into his restaurant. He also visits for discussions on all sorts of aspects of food science, including the microbiological safety of low temperature cooking, the application of novel food processing methods, meat flavour chemistry and the chemistry of food flavours. He and his staff also helped students on the food product development modules. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by the University in 2006.