2009 Special Award: Sponsored by sodexo

Winner: Heston Blumenthal

Worthy winner of the Craft Guild of Chefs 2009 Special Award, Heston Blumenthal seems to have always been in search of perfection thus making sense for his TV series on BBC2 to be called just that. Recently another series highlighted his work in revamping the menus of the Little Chef chain of restaurants.

Self taught, yet to his credit he has three Michelin stars, an OBE for his contribution to British gastronomy, and worldwide respect for his culinary acumen and inquisitive mind.

His culinary journey began at the age of 15 when he travelled to France with his family for the first time and visited one of France’s greatest restaurants in Provence, L’Oustau de Baumaniere, and became awestruck by the world of food. On his return to the UK, he tried to gain a position in the kitchens of London’s hotels and restaurants, but this proved too daunting a task for a teenager.

For the next decade, he learnt the basics of French cuisine from books and worked in various jobs to fund his research trips to France that took in visits to restaurants, vineyards, cheese makers, butchers and artisan producers. In 1995 he put all that learning to good use when he became chef owner of the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray.

Nine years later it had gained those Michelin stars and in 2005 was proclaimed the best restaurant in the world by the “50 best” academy of more than 600 international chefs and food critics. He also owns the Hinds Head Hotel, a village pub, which is `also in Bray.

One of the books that most influenced him in the early days was: On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, which questioned the fundamental rules of the kitchen and encouraged Blumenthal to question them as well. He has worked with food historians, food physiologists and biochemists across the globe and has been described as a culinary alchemist for his style of cuisine.

His snail porridge is now legend. His approach to cooking has earned him many awards and recognition from the scientific community. His papers written in partnership with the University of Reading awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Science in 2006.

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