"Sitting at the chef's table in a two-Michelin-star restaurant wearing an oversized pair of goggles, I begin to understand why. I'm here to review the Topsy Turvy experience, which is based around an inventive yet simple dining concept: you begin with dessert and end with the starters."
"Wrapping around the walls near the table is a long canvas designed to look like a tapestry, tracing the history of British gastronomy through the ages with Heston himself tucked sneakily into the scene, dressed as a jester. At first, I must admit, I'm overwhelmed - there's a lot to take in and all the action is somewhat distracting."
"Then a menu arrives, wrapped like a mysterious scroll and tucked into a black box, pulling me back from the kitchen theatrics. Alongside it is a small hand-held mirror. When I pick it up and unravel the menu, I realize it's printed backward. To read it, I need to decipher the words through a reflection."
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, a two-Michelin-star restaurant at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, will close in January 2027. The restaurant is currently offering the Topsy Turvy experience, an inventive dining concept that begins with dessert and ends with starters, guiding guests through British culinary history. This builds on a successful 2024 limited-time reverse menu at The Fat Duck. The dining room features theatrical elements including a canvas tapestry depicting British gastronomy history with Heston depicted as a jester. The menu arrives wrapped like a scroll in a black box, printed backward and readable only through a provided mirror, exemplifying Blumenthal's eccentric approach to dining.
#heston-blumenthal #fine-dining-experience #british-culinary-history #michelin-star-restaurant #experimental-gastronomy
Read at Elite Traveler
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