Following the success of his book and TV series In Search of Perfection, chef/multi-sensory food wizard Heston Blumenthal is bringing the ultimate on-the-go food and high-design experience to travelers connecting at the new $4 billion Heathrow terminal. Devotees who have already ventured an hour outside London to worship at the tables of The Fat Duck and savor some of Blumenthal’s famous dishes–like the auditory experience that is the “Sound of the Sea”–will no doubt want to book a flight just to try what he has in store next. (And here we thought the expanded Cibo Express at Jet Blue’s JFK terminal was pretty good for an airport.)
“As a perfectionist, you can continually try to improve things…[but] you will never be quite satisfied. It’s an endless pursuit.”
So what’s on the menu? Blumenthal and his team (Fat Duck Group’s executive head chef Ashley Palmer-Watts and the restaurant’s head chef, Julian O’ Neill) deconstructed quintessential British dishes to get to the root of what makes them truly delicious. The resulting menu items will be cooked using new techniques as well as new tools and equipment developed especially for the restaurant. Highlights include:
A wood-burning pizza oven with temperatures perfected to render perfectly “sloppy yet delicate Neapoltian-style” pies with crispy crusts and toppings that don’t get cooked above 140°F, so that fresh basil on top will still come out fresh and green.
Scientifically authentic Fish + Chips made from a next-level beer batter inspired by a Leeds University scientist who studied the “science of crunch” that comes with an atomizer on the side so diners can spray the distilled essence of malt vinegar and pickled onion juice essential to real-deal British chip shop taste.
The three-finger burger with layers perfectly architected to fit comfortably in your mouth all in one bite—which an oral physiologist discovered is about the width of three fingers. The bun? Brioche, of course. It’s “soft enough to absorb the juices and be pressed down to the three-finger rule, yet substantial enough to hold the burger together without falling apart.”
Liquid nitrogen ice cream is the natural dessert of choice for Blumenthal—never mind the legal nightmare it was to get it approved for use in an airport. Two steel cylinders with a subzero temperature of -385°F will be pumped into the ice cream maker, freezing the custard immediately with the most minuscule of ice crystals, rendering super smooth ice cream served up super fast. Just because you’re a busy traveler on the go doesn’t mean you can’t take a trip to the ice cream parlor and still make your connection.
