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October 13, 2024
Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant Dinner, which has two Michelin stars, closed last night after an outbreak of the same vomiting virus that closed another of his establishments, The Fat Duck, five years ago.
The celebrity chef acted with decisive speed to shut the gourmet London restaurant’s doors for a week after a number of customers fell ill.
The establishment on Hyde Park – which specialises in historical English food – opened to universal acclaim in 2011, and was fully booked for months.
Hailed by food critics as ‘astonishing’ and ‘seriously good’, it has been rated by experts as one of the world’s finest restaurants.
Mr Blumenthal, who was criticised for reacting too slowly when his flagship restaurant The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, was hit by a worse outbreak, said the temporary closure of Dinner might seem ‘rather extreme and over cautious’.
But he added: ‘My goal has always been to pursue perfection in the kitchen and to amaze our guests with taste sensations beyond their imagination, rather than expose them to the risk of a really nasty couple of days of heaving.’
The chef, famous for his experimental cooking, said the problem came to light two weeks ago when a guest reported feeling unwell with symptoms consistent with the norovirus winter vomiting bug.
Dinner’s new menu, which has been described as ‘medieval’ with recipes dating back to the 14th century, with dishes like ‘rice and flesh’ and ‘meat fruit’
The interior of the Dinner restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hyde Park, London. The restaurant is the second of Blumenthal’s to be shut down due to the outbreak of a virus, the first being his establishment ‘Fat Duck’
The restaurant, in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, immediately called in Westminster Council environmental health officers and nine further reports of illness were recorded.
Mr Blumenthal, whose restaurant caters for about 1,000 people a week and where a meal for two can cost £190, said the complaints peaked after a couple of days and tests made by Westminster officials came back negative.
But a new set of test results came in on Friday confirming norovirus in three staff members and two guests. Mr Blumenthal told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I therefore decided to close the restaurant.
‘I personally have the experience and knowledge about this winter bug and how to contain it immediately.
‘But to completely and permanently rule out any further contamination takes a few days to be 100 per cent sure. I know many schools and companies have been affected with higher volumes of people than us, but my concern is my guests and staff.
‘I am very sorry for the inconvenience to those customers affected by the cancellations. However, I will reopen the restaurant safe in the knowledge that we have done everything we can do to continue to strive to create the perfect environment and food for my guests to enjoy.
‘We are in a unique position of having an insight into the behaviour of this bug and I will always err on the side of extreme caution. As The Who sang: “I won’t get fooled again”.’
According to a food website, Westminster food safety officers have confirmed there had been an outbreak of the bug and were quoted as saying: ‘We have asked the restaurant to improve some of its hygiene procedures – including telling staff to wash their hands more often. The changes were made immediately.’
Blumenthal has been notorious for his strange and eclectic dishes, and his recent dining endevour is no exception, with a menu featuring ancient recipes
In one of the largest known outbreak of the bug in a restaurant, more than 240 people were affected by norovirus at The Fat Duck.
The restaurant, which has three Michelin stars and was voted the best restaurant in the world in 2005, was accused of waiting six weeks after the first suspected case before reporting it to the Health Protection Agency, though managers rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing.
A spokesman for The Fat Duck said at the time that the outbreak had been caused by ‘oysters contaminated at source by norovirus.’
The establishment reopened after a ten-day investigation.
Norovirus is the most common stomach bug in the UK. It is highly contagious and causes vomiting and diarrhoea. If an infected person does not wash their hands before handling food, they can pass the virus on. It can also be spread from contaminated surfaces and equipment.
Source Mail Online