Just the thought of having the luxury to eat breakfast with Heston Blumenthal this past Sunday morning gave me the shakes. Sure, they were of excitement, but frankly speaking, they were mostly attributed to nerves. After all, it’s not every day that I get the chance to chat to a chef of such magnitude in the restaurant world.

I admit that I have been glued to every episode of Feasts since it started airing. I have been mesmerized by everything from Heston’s white chocolate dripping candles bursting with caramel to his Edwardian-inspired pork pie that actually turned out to be a sweet ice cream dessert. And then there’s been the intriguing fob watch, but I’ll get to that just now.

At breakfast, Heston and I were joined by the cream of the local culinary set, including Luke Dale-Roberts (The Test Kitchen), Bertus Basson (Overture) and Eric Bulpitt (The Roundhouse). Afterwards, over coffee, the questions from the panel came fast and furious and we ended up discussing all manner of topics, some of which were serious and some wonderfully whimsical.

When I pulsed Heston on the new foodie phenomenon of foraging, he immediately gave credit to how well Noma’s René Redzepi showcased and translated the philosophy in his food.

Touching on the theme of sustainability, Heston explained that although his entire approach to food is a little different to the expected, given the prevalence of pipes, high-volume spinners and hand-crafted machines in his cooking, he still regards food as food and believes that the quality of ingredients need the highest respect. He went on to chat about a fish farmer in Wales who is doing phenomenal things for the environment.

Next, Chef Bertus Basson from Overture piped in, asking when last Heston enjoyed a McDonald’s burger. “I can’t remember, but I love gherkins,” he said, going on to say that he’d recently had a Pickleback cocktail, comprised of whiskey and gherkin juice.

I can’t remember how we got onto ice cream, but then Heston explained how the lower the fat content, the higher and longer the flavour will stay. Extraordinary!

It was Chef Eric Bulpitt from The Roundhouse’s turn hereafter. When he posed the question of how Heston made his aerated chocolate, Blumenthal went into great detail. He explained that the chocolate first had to be tempered in the sous vide method to get it really shiny, and then placed in an oven with a pipe thread through it to make sure that the air is circulated, making the chocolate rise with the thinnest bubbles. “You need to add the right amount of oil, though,” he added. “Just a touch!”

When I mentioned the name of Nathan Myhrvold – the ex-computer programmer turned molecular gastronomist, who recently edited the epic five-volume book set called Modernist Cuisine – Heston’ ears pricked up. He passionately exclaimed that this series of books perfectly expounded the oft-misunderstood concept of molecular gastronomy. “So Myhrvold’s the new Escoffier,” remarked Luke, quite aptly.

Asked what the future holds, Heston told us a bit more about his newest concept, which has been in development for four years. It’s an animated booking system that will allow the diner to go through the range of sensory experiences that await you at The Fat Duck, before you’ve even entered the door. It could be the creek of the wooden floor that you hear when on your way to the bathrooms or a description of the smell of sherbet and caramel of the just-opened sweetie pack (complete with edible wrappers) diners are given at the end of the meal. Its absolutely crazy, jaw-dropping stuff. Later on we were privileged to watch the video, his very own interpretation of Alice in Wonderland escapism.

The undisputed pièce de résistance of the morning was when Heston gave us a step-by-step rendition of how he created his much-discussed fob watch, designed to be dissolved in a piping hot cup of water, à la Mad Hatter’s tea party. The conceptualising of the final product took a good couple of years to perfect. It was a tear-filled moment of inspiration for many of us as he explained how he created the watch out of five-time filtrated consommé set in gelatine and enrobed in edible gold leaf, all to gently disintegrate into mock-turtle soup, a broth of uniquely enticing flavours. Perfection in every way. We were so overcome that we gave him a standing ovation right then and there.

Luke probably summed up the whole overwhelming affair best when he told me afterwards: “What strikes me most is his enormous enthusiasm in food, which has never waned despite his fame.”

By Abigail Donnelly