Theatrical Christmas Menu from Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck

Chef Heston Blumenthal’s  style of culinary showmanship is perfect for Christmas. Heston says, “It gives me the opportunity to combine creativity and theatre in a way that taps into the deep nostalgia everybody feels about the festive season.”

Edible baubles and an advent-calendar menu feature on this year’s Fat Duck ten-course Christmas tasting menu, which will be available from 18th November until 21st December.  This year promises to be exceptional for The Fat Duck, with a venison dish in which you get to eat humble pie – deer entrails – and the world’s most complex dessert.

Famous for creating seasonal surprises, The Fat Duck’s menu starts with Christmas tipples before going on a magical gastronomic journey that includes Heston’s indulgent, history-inspired take on the mince pie, featuring diced Wagyu short rib and Lardo di Colonnata salami topped with caviar. The menu finishes with Botrytis Cinerea – the noble rot, which is, famously, the most complicated dessert in the world.

The kitchen is already working on this year’s hidden citrus Christmas puddings. And yes, there’ll be crackers.

The Christmas menu – priced at £375 per person for Tuesday to Friday lunch and £450 per person for dinner and Saturday to Sunday lunch.

To reserve your place at the festive table and enjoy the culinary carousal that is Yuletide with Heston, go to thefatduck.co.uk

THE MENU

The Fat Duck Christmas Menu 2025

Christmas Tipples – Snowball, Bristol Cream, Bucks Fizz

Aerated Beetroot – horseradish cream

Pine Tonic of Botanicals – green herbs, pine, smoked cumin, Jerusalem artichoke

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – short rib of beef, Lardo di Colonnata, dried fruits, gold carrot, Sherry

Breakfast Baubles –  truffle egg, smoked salmon, buttered toast.

Chicken liver parfait & plum

Roast Scallop –  white chocolate & caviar

The King’s Venison (c.1066) – beetroot, chestnuts, Brussel sprouts, black truffle & Umbles

Cheese, Nuts & Port

Botrytis Cinerea

“Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop”

The Fat Duck opened in the village of Bray in Berkshire on 16 August 1995, so is celebrating its 30th birthday. Although it began as a brasserie serving French classics, the restaurant soon gained a reputation for its original and innovative approach to cooking, and many of the dishes served there have become landmarks in modern gastronomy, among them Snail Porridge, Nitro-scrambled Egg & Bacon Ice Cream, ‘Sound of the Sea’, Hot & Iced Tea, Mock Turtle Soup and Counting Sheep. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 1999, its second in 2001 and its third in 2004 – at the time one of the fastest rises in Michelin history. The following year, it was named No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants – the first and only British restaurant to receive this recognition.

My review of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal