Heston Blumenthal

Chinese cuisine, famous for dumplings steamed in bamboo baskets and Peking duck slow-cooked over wood from fruit trees, seems a far cry from the high-tech equipment used in so-called molecular cuisine. But Dong Zhenxiang, owner of the Da Dong restaurant in Beijing which is a leader of the trendy culinary movement here, says fresh techniques can only improve traditional Chinese cooking. "Importing new cooking skills is aimed at improving, enriching and promoting Chinese cuisine. Molecular gastronomy is only one of those skills," said Dong, whose establishment also serves platter upon platter of classic roast duck. Molecular cuisine, a phrase ascribed to a scientific approach ... Read Full Story

Top chef Heston Blumenthal apologised Friday to more than 500 diners taken ill after an outbreak of norovirus at his British restaurant The Fat Duck, considered one of the world's best eateries. In letters sent to those affected he also offered them a free meal, two weeks after the Health Protection Agency (HPA) concluded that raw shellfish contaminated by human sewage was to blame for the outbreak in February. The Michelin three-starred restaurant in Bray, west of London, closed after about 40 customers said they had fallen ill after eating there, a figure which rose roughly tenfold following media coverage. At the time, Blumenthal ... Read Full Story

Top chef Heston Blumenthal apologised on Friday to more than 500 diners taken ill after an outbreak of norovirus at his restaurant The Fat Duck, considered one of the world's best eateries. In letters sent to those affected he also offered them a free meal, two weeks after the Health Protection Agency (HPA) concluded that raw shellfish contaminated by human sewage was to blame for the outbreak in February. The Michelin three-starred restaurant in Bray, west of London, closed after about 40 customers said they had fallen ill after eating there, a figure which rose roughly tenfold following media coverage. At the time, Blumenthal ... Read Full Story

The vomiting and diarrhea that hit patrons of one of Britain's most celebrated restaurants was caused by a virus that was probably introduced by contaminated shellfish, the country's Health Protection Agency said in a report published Thursday. The Fat Duck, a Michelin-starred restaurant run by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, was closed for more than two weeks starting Feb. 24 after hundreds of diners became ill. The closure was widely covered by the British media, an interest fed in part by the mysterious source of the illness and the bizarre items on Blumenthal's menu, which features jelly of quail, cream of crayfish and salmon poached ... Read Full Story

The vomiting bug which hit restaurant The Fat Duck -- considered one of the world's best -- was probably caused by raw shellfish contaminated by human sewage, an official report has said. The restaurant in Bray, west of London, which has all three Michelin stars and is known for its unusual dishes, was temporarily closed after 529 diners were struck with vomiting and diarrhoea in January and February. "The organism responsible was norovirus," said the Health Protection Agency in its report late Thursday, following an official investigation. "The norovirus was probably introduced via shellfish because diners who ate shellfish dishes were more likely to ... Read Full Story