Heston Blumenthal on his Tudor Feast

In his Tudor Feast we see Heston creating otherworldly beasts and employing pyrotechnics in an attempt to entertain and amaze another group of celebrity guests. Get the inside scoop on what went on behind the scenes on Heston’s Tudor Feast

On tough cookie guest Kelvin MacKenzie
The programme makers wanted to invite guests that are a real cross section to generate conversation and opinion, and you always run the risk of someone going against the grain. I had no idea what Kelvin was going to make of it all, but that’s half the fun – especially if you manage to completely change their preconceptions through the course of the meal.

On criticisms from diners such as Kelvin, and if he feels a need to convert his critics
No chef likes to have their creations criticised if I’m honest, but it made it even more rewarding when we managed to turn him around by the end of the meal – it was a real rollercoaster ride. I never feel I have to convert my critics – that’s not what it’s about. Deliberately going round trying to make food that critics will like is probably the most un-creative thing you could ever do. I just do what I do but I was glad he liked it in the end.

On his dream hybrid cockentrice-type beast
From a purely visual point of view I guess there are no limits. We did brainstorm an idea involving a crocodile head, kangaroo body and snake tail which would have looked pretty incredible. But in the end it had to come down to taste, which is why we opted for more traditional farm animals.

On cooking two different animals at the same time and how to keep both tasting delicious/prevent them from drying out
In practice this was a real headache and required lots of testing. The key thing was to cook the meats together in a sealed bag at a relatively low temperature in a water bath for a long time. This gradual cooking process stops the meat drying out, enabling all the components to be cooked perfectly together.

On taxidermy and if he was tempted to give his chicken breast implants while at the surgeons
Ha! The idea with the plastic surgeon was to try and replicate the original Tudor recipe. To be honest it was freaky enough without the need for any extra appendages.

On how much he loved bringing pyrotechnics to the table – and on if we could do a smaller version of it at home
This was great fun, though really nerve wracking at the feast – we really didn’t want to set the studio on fire! We did a few tests to work out exactly how much of the flash cotton we could safely use, but even then you never know exactly what’s going to happen on the night. Definitely best avoiding this at home – we had a lot of safety precautions and experts to help us do it safely.

On what a frog tastes like, if a toad will do – and on what was in the jelly pond
Frog meat can be delicious when handled properly and, as the saying goes, it really does taste like chicken. You can get fresh frogs legs in this country, but not live frogs as far as I know. Most of it seems to come from the Far East. I’ve never heard of anyone eating toad so can’t vouch for that I’m afraid! The Jelly pond was just made from a thick type of jelly and dyed green – it was just a way of adding a bit more fun into the dish but wasn’t supposed to eaten.

On what bone marrow adds to rice pudding, and if we should we be sticking it in our hot chocolate
It’s funny because bone marrow has been used in pudding for centuries, and the suet pudding that we all know and love (used in desserts and savoury dishes) contains the fat from around the veal kidney, so bone marrow is not so different from this.

It’s a really good example of how we’ve lost touch with our food history. The bone marrow adds an amazing richness to the dish which is hard to replicate with other ingredients. I’m not sure it would add much to your hot chocolate, but a chocolate cake on the other hand…

On why he made a puree out of peas then froze it in liquid nitrogen to make peas – instead of just using peas…
Real frozen peas wouldn’t have worked at all. We pureed the peas and combined with a sweet syrup and then froze them into tiny sorbet balls using liquid nitrogen. When you stick one on your tongue it tingles and disappears into nothing in a second, with a sweet taste and hint of pea. Compare that to munching through a spoonful of fibrous peas straight out of the freezer!

Catch up on Heston’s Tudor Feast

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