Heston Blumenthal
04/06/21 • 53 min
1 Listener
Today, I'm joined by one of the most famous and successful chefs in the world and in history - Heston Blumenthal.
It was an unforgettable travel experience that inspired Heston to become a chef. He’s entirely self taught, and was working other odd jobs all the way until his late twenties, when he bought a small pub in Bray in Berkshire. He called it The Fat Duck, and it went on to be award three Michelin stars and to be named The World’s Best Restaurant.
A food pioneer, he’s been dubbed the Willy Wonka of cuisine, fascinated by the science behind the cooking. He’s become the king of experimental cuisine which has led to world famous dishes like snail porridge, parsnip cereal, and bacon and eggs ice cream. Oh, and did you know it was Heston who invented one of my favourite things to eat - the triple cooked chip.
This is definitely an unusual episode. Yes we cover travel, it’s a fundamental part of Heston’s food, and it was so fun to hear about some of the weird and wonderful things he’s eaten on his travels - not all of them happy memories, I should add! But honestly, I really felt like I was speaking to a true genius in this chat, it’s hard to find another way to describe it, and so we also cover off the meaning of life and philosophy, quantum physics and scientific theory. He is determined to push himself and others to think beyond the confines of our small minds, when it comes to both food and life.
I really hope you enjoy it.
Destination Recap:
- Praa Sands, Cornwall, England
- Regent’s Snack Bar, Edgware Road, London, England
- Baumanière, Hôtel Restaurant, Les Baux-de-Provence, France
- Les Alpilles, France
- Monastery Epiphany, Les Baux-de-Provence, France
- Turkey
- Siberia, Russia
- Iceland
- Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- Korea
- The Amazon
- Peru
- Indonesia
- Polynesia
Tune in to Heston’s own podcast, Heston’s Journey to the Centre of Food which is available on all podcast apps and is great fun, it’s a must for foodies.
Well, that’s a wrap for Season 4, thank you all for joining me along the way, wherever you are in the world. Thank you for spreading the word about the podcast, sharing your favourite episode on your social media, telling your friends, leaving lovely reviews and sending me the most amazing messages, it has been amazing, especially to feel so connected and part of our little travel diaries community, that you’ve all created, during a time where we often otherwise feel quite disconnected.
If you’ve enjoyed listening to the podcast, remember to press subscribe on your podcast app, it’s free, and you’ll then get notified when Season 5 begins in the summer.
In the meantime, do stay in touch, I’m @hollyrubenstein on Instagram and Twitter.
Remember there’s all four seasons to keep you going until then, from Rick Stein and Sir Ranulph Fiennes, to Jo Malone and Raymond Blanc.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today, I'm joined by one of the most famous and successful chefs in the world and in history - Heston Blumenthal.
It was an unforgettable travel experience that inspired Heston to become a chef. He’s entirely self taught, and was working other odd jobs all the way until his late twenties, when he bought a small pub in Bray in Berkshire. He called it The Fat Duck, and it went on to be award three Michelin stars and to be named The World’s Best Restaurant.
A food pioneer, he’s been dubbed the Willy Wonka of cuisine, fascinated by the science behind the cooking. He’s become the king of experimental cuisine which has led to world famous dishes like snail porridge, parsnip cereal, and bacon and eggs ice cream. Oh, and did you know it was Heston who invented one of my favourite things to eat - the triple cooked chip.
This is definitely an unusual episode. Yes we cover travel, it’s a fundamental part of Heston’s food, and it was so fun to hear about some of the weird and wonderful things he’s eaten on his travels - not all of them happy memories, I should add! But honestly, I really felt like I was speaking to a true genius in this chat, it’s hard to find another way to describe it, and so we also cover off the meaning of life and philosophy, quantum physics and scientific theory. He is determined to push himself and others to think beyond the confines of our small minds, when it comes to both food and life.
I really hope you enjoy it.
Destination Recap:
- Praa Sands, Cornwall, England
- Regent’s Snack Bar, Edgware Road, London, England
- Baumanière, Hôtel Restaurant, Les Baux-de-Provence, France
- Les Alpilles, France
- Monastery Epiphany, Les Baux-de-Provence, France
- Turkey
- Siberia, Russia
- Iceland
- Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- Korea
- The Amazon
- Peru
- Indonesia
- Polynesia
Tune in to Heston’s own podcast, Heston’s Journey to the Centre of Food which is available on all podcast apps and is great fun, it’s a must for foodies.
Well, that’s a wrap for Season 4, thank you all for joining me along the way, wherever you are in the world. Thank you for spreading the word about the podcast, sharing your favourite episode on your social media, telling your friends, leaving lovely reviews and sending me the most amazing messages, it has been amazing, especially to feel so connected and part of our little travel diaries community, that you’ve all created, during a time where we often otherwise feel quite disconnected.
If you’ve enjoyed listening to the podcast, remember to press subscribe on your podcast app, it’s free, and you’ll then get notified when Season 5 begins in the summer.
In the meantime, do stay in touch, I’m @hollyrubenstein on Instagram and Twitter.
Remember there’s all four seasons to keep you going until then, from Rick Stein and Sir Ranulph Fiennes, to Jo Malone and Raymond Blanc.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Gregory Porter
On today’s episode, I’m joined by the multi-Grammy winning singer, Gregory Porter. Gregory’s was originally set to become an American football player, and it wasn’t until he turned 40 that his rich jazz baritone caught the attention of industry bigwigs and subsequently, jazz heads around the world. His major label debut Liquid Spirit went on to become the most streamed jazz album of all time. He's played Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, sung for the Queen and prior to Covid was travelling over 200 days a year, playing to his adoring fans around the world. So with all that travel and all those miles covered, it’s no surprise that today’s episode is a long haul, feature length episode.
Gregory joins me from his home in California, and this is a really touching, personal, evocative episode. Gregory says it’s like therapy - he remembers his travels so vividly, and each destination is full of emotion as he describes it to us. We’ll go on a journey from the West to the East coast of the United States, across Russia on the Transiberian Express and to a secret French island that I’d never heard of, which is now firmly added to my travel wish list. Oh and he serenades us not once but twice on this episode, so prepared to be soothed by that velvety voice!
Destination Recap:
- Bakersfield, California, USA
- Yosemite National Park, California, USA
- Santa Monica, California, USA
- San Diego, California, USA
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Harlem, New York, USA
- Siberia, Russia
- Tokyo, Japan
- Kanazawa, Japan
- Porquerolles, France
- Ukraine
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Tel Aviv, Israel
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- South Africa
- Sierra Leone
- Ghana
Gregory Porter’s album All Rise is out now.
Thank you so much for listening today.
If you’re enjoying the podcast, then it would wonderful if you could leave a rating or a review - it really makes a big difference because it helps other people to discover the podcast.
To hear future episodes as soon as they’re released don’t forget to hit subscribe on your podcast app of choice.
To find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you.
If you can’t wait until then, there’s always the first three seasons to catch up on, from Michael Palin to Rick Stein, and Sir Ranulph Fiennes to Dev Patel.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Awesome Australia - Destination Special
Welcome to this Awesome Australia Destination Special. Together with much loved guests including Rick Stein, John Torode and Dynamo, we’ll be heading on an Australian adventure across the country, revealing favourite spots, hidden gems and top tips. It’s wanderlust, guaranteed!
It’s June 2021 right now, and unfortunately that means that for most of us travel is currently extremely restricted. So now’s the time to plan your next big bucket list trip - and for me, Australia is top of the list. From the wilderness of The Kimberley, to the red rock of Uluru, Kangaroo Island, Sydney, Melbourne and more, I hope this episode inspires you to visit when we are all able to travel easily again.
Destination Recap:
- The Kimberley, WA
- The King George Falls, The Kimberley, WA
- Adelaide, SA
- Coober Pedy, SA
- Alice Springs, NT
- Torres Strait Islands, QLD
- Sydney, NSW
- Wolgan Valley, The Blue Mountains, NSW
- Melbourne Lane Ways, VIC
- Federation Square, Melbourne, VIC
- Queensland Coast, QLD
- Western Australian wildlife trifecta, WA
- Ningaloo Reef, WA
- Kangaroo Island, SA
- Uluru, NT
Thank you to John Torode, Rick Stein, Rachel Khoo, Peter Grunert, Tony Wheeler, Dynamo and Phoebe Smith for being a part of today’s episode.
For more information about planning your own trip to Australia head to australia.com
If you’re enjoying the podcast, then it would wonderful if you could leave a rating or a review - it really makes a big difference because it helps other people to discover the podcast.
To hear future episodes as soon as they are released just search for The Travel Diaries on your podcast app of choice, and hit subscribe.
To find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you.
If you can’t wait until then, there’s always the first four seasons to catch up on, from Michael Palin to Rick Stein, and Sir Ranulph Fiennes to Dev Patel.
Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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