Heston Blumenthal, chef, 47

Ambitions: Heston Blumenthal

Repo man. I was the guy who would get the fax machine back if it wasn’t paid for. I hated it.

What made you so sure cooking and food was the right path?
It was just a feeling. I had no idea what I wanted to do as a kid, then one day my dad took the family to a restaurant in Provence, France. None of us had ever been to a restaurant like that before and the impact was powerful. I remember all the sounds and smells, the warm air, sitting outside under a bauxite cliff, the waiters’ feet crunching on the gravel, carving dishes at the table, the smell of lavender, huge cheese trollies, wine waiters in leather aprons, just the incredible magic of it all.

You took on a down-at-heel pub in Bray, Berkshire. How long did you expect The Fat Duck to survive?
I hadn’t a clue. All I wanted to do was open a basic small brasserie-style restaurant at that time. I did have a secret personal dream that one day I would achieve a Michelin star but I had no idea it could turn out the way it did. To be honest, if I did know how hard this journey was going to be I don’t know if I would have done it.

What was the turning point?
I read a book by Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking – The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, and it was like reading a book written just for me. This guy was answering all of my questions.

Do people lose sight of the fact you’re a chef and not just a celebrity and creator of bizarre food concepts?
Do people see me as a chef? Yeah, I think so. The TV programs like Feast are wonderful tools for learning and offer great opportunities for research and development. We cook real time, we cook fun crazy things and have a great time but the pressure is that it all has to taste good. Indeed, certain dishes at The Fat Duck and [London restaurant] Dinner are a result of the TV research my team and I carried out.

Twice you’ve had to close your restaurants because of food scandals. How does that feel?
Devastating. It was norovirus on both occasions, although they were very different. In 2009, when I chose to close The Fat Duck, we had no idea why guests were getting sick and I had no idea if I would open again. It was the worst time of my professional career. That is why I reacted so quickly at the first hint of norovirus at Dinner a few months ago.

In February you open The Fat Duck for six months in Melbourne’s Crown. Why Melbourne?
I love Melbourne, but the question is why Australia? For me it has one of the most exciting, diverse and evolving food cultures in the world. The people are passionate about food. I don’t know if it’s because there isn’t such a strong historical regional food culture that it creates such an open-minded population but I just love the approach to dining, fun, enjoyment and adventure in Oz.

How will you run it from the other side of the world?
This isn’t a pop-up or a guest appearance. We are building from scratch The Fat Duck in Australia and bringing the whole team, the kit, kitchen equipment, even the signage. With Dinner [which opens at Crown when The Fat Duck returns to the UK], we have been planning this for a few years and have been grooming staff for the move.

Have you copped flak over your product line for Coles?
No. It’s been quite interesting actually and well received.

What restaurant trend leaves you cold?
I can’t really answer that because I don’t think restaurants create trends, I think media create trends to pigeonhole restaurants.

Source:  The Australian - 19th April 2014