After such a big night from Towards A Fluid State, I was fortunate enough to wake up without my alarm early enough to head off to the Taste of Christmas. I’d promised to meet other people there before then and had barely enough time to get ready to head their early. I’ve never paid to go to any Taste events, with the theory being that the ticket cost in addition to the plate costs easily make up for any decent meal you’ll probably get in a restaurant. Of course, you can easily argue it’s about being able to sample lots of different cuisines (which we definitely did) but it really does add up.

The highlight of the day was definitely seeing Heston Blumenthal, of The Fat Duck fame, discuss three of his different menu items and the work and detail that go into each of the dishes. It’s a frightful amount of work, as anyone who has bought his tome could attest to, with the pay off being obviously spectacular results. He’s a cheerfully friendly bloke, and happily talked about everything, including his own background and some of the biggest mistakes in his kitchen. Despite all the culinary wizardry and imaginative techniques, it’s obvious that he’s supremely talented and really passionate about what he does. It’s wonderful that he’s all about the taste experience and getting the most you could possibly get out of the food items he makes.