Heston Blumenthal and Alain Roux's special menu set at £1,980 per head

Heston Blumenthal and Alain Roux's special menu set at £1,980 per head
Source: Daily Mail Online

Culinary greats Heston Blumenthal and Alain Roux are putting their Michelin-starred toques together for one special night and you could have a bite - if you've got £1,985 to spare.

The jaw-droppingly expensive menu comes after Heston, 58, returned to work at The Fat Duck, following his bipolar disorder diagnosis and mental health crisis that led to him being sectioned last year.

Now, he and Alain, 57, are joining forces for a double celebration feast, which will toast to the 30th anniversary of The Fat Duck as well as 40 years of Alain's The Waterside Inn's triple Michelin star status.

The event will take place on May at The Waterside Inn, which is located in Bray, Berkshire, alongside The Fat Duck that also holds three Michelin stars.

While the price of the evening is bound to send heads reeling, Heston's team has announced that 50 per cent of ticket sales will be 'donated equally to charities close to each chef's heart'.

Alain has chosen The Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust, of which he is a Patron, to receive a share of the donations.

Meanwhile, Heston is dedicating the money to Bipolar UK, where he serves as an Ambassador.

Despite the eye-watering cost, tickets for the evening have already sold out; however, fans who want to dine with the celebrity chefs can add their names to a growing waiting list.

In a post on Instagram, Heston's team said: 'We look forward to raising a glass at this long-awaited event, uniting two of the world's greatest kitchens for one extraordinary night of gastronomy.'
'We are truly overwhelmed by the support of our dearest guests, as tickets sold out during our pre-release.'

The price of the collaborative menu includes food, wine, service and VAT.

While no details have been revealed about what dishes will be on the 'once-in-a-lifetime' menu, it has been described as one that will combine 'the creative reliance and technical perfection of both kitchens, along with the world-class hospitality that defines these two restaurants in Bray'.

Heston is best known for injecting creativity and innovation into his culinary creations and some of the most famous dishes he has produced at The Fat Duck include snail porridge, crab ice cream and 'Sound of The Sea', a seafood dish accompanied by the sound of crashing waves and seagulls.

Meanwhile, Alain - son of famed Le Gavroche proprietor Michel Roux - is a classically trained French chef known for his complex, yet classic dishes such as his signature pan-fried lobster medallions with vegetable julienne and white port sauce and île flottante, or 'floating island' dessert.

Recently, The Waterside Inn launched a four-course menu to celebrate 40 years of being a triple Michelin-starred restaurant.

The chef's Alice in Wonderland-inspired Mock Turtle Soup is also one of his most famous dishes.

It was first opened by Michel in 1972 and is the only restaurant in the world, outside France, to have retained three stars since it was awarded its first one in 1974.

A string of high-profile guests have been seen dining at The Waterside Inn over the years - including members of the royal family who celebrated Prince Philip's 90th birthday in 2011 at the restaurant.

In 2015, when the restaurant celebrated 30 years of three Michelin stars, Pippa Middleton attended a media event to mark the occasion.

The new menu, which will set diners back by £150 for lunch and £180 for dinner, may offer a glimpse at what will be served at the special event on 15 May.

It includes pan-fried foies gras cooked in the Grenoble style, with caramelised orange; traditional pike quenelle with langoustine tails; roasted duck breast with chestnuts and parsnips, with a red port jus with cranberries; and a warm rhubarb soufflé with raspberries.

Guests will also receive a glass of Alain Roux Champagne—but must pay an additional £15 if they want a coffee or tea with 'mignardises', or 'fancies' at the end of their meal.

The Fat Duck has also launched a new version of its tasting menu, called Journey, to celebrate its 30th birthday.

The late Queen and Prince Philip were the top royals who visited The Waterside Inn to celebrate the Duke's 90th birthday in 2011.

The now-Prince and Princess of Wales also attended the Duke's 90th birthday and were seen leaving with boxes of birthday cake in tow.

The new menu 'promises to take you somewhere surprising, stimulating both the tastebuds and the imagination'.

It includes a whopping 12 courses, with some of Heston's famous dishes remaining like Sound of the Sea and Mock Turtle Soup.

Journey also features throwbacks to older dishes such as aerated beetroot, a beetroot macaroon filled with creamed horseradish that was first introduced in 2011, and red cabbage gazpacho, which first appeared in 2001.