Since Heston Blumenthal burst onto our screens in the early 2000’s we’ve been witness to a whole manner of tricks and experiments that we never thought possible with our food. He has been branded a ‘molecular gastronomist’, a term he hates, believing it makes his work sound "complicated" and "elitist". Blumenthal is in fact a self-taught chef who loves food and is as hungry to learn about it and experiment with it, as he is to eat it.

His entry into the public eye came accompanied with one of his signature dishes snail porridge and parsnip cereal, sounds revolting, but apparently it’s a taste experience.

Another of his signatures, this time a technique, is the use of a vacuum jar to increase expansion of bubbles during food preparation. This is used in such dishes as an aerated chocolate soufflé, which, unlike the snail porridge, looks and sounds divine. The reduction in air pressure inside the jar causes bubbles to grow to a larger size. Several other techniques he uses include an intricate type of slow cooking to retain flavour and cooking in vacuum bags for much the same reason.

But, he doesn’t just experience with the taste of food, he also experiments with texture and sound, to enhance sounds, such as the crunch that is created while eating certain foods.

Blumenthal and his Fat Duck restaurant are credited as the inventors of the bacon dessert craze. He was preparing sweet and savoury bacon-and-egg ice cream as early as 2004, and news about the intriguingly odd confection quickly spread through the food world, and started his rise to fame. A tasting menu at the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire is £160 and consists of the following:

• LIME GROVE which is a Nitro Poached Green Tea and Lime Mousse

• RED CABBAGE GAZPACHO with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream

• JELLY OF QUAIL, CRAYFISH CREAM with Chicken Liver Parfait, Oak Moss and Truffle Toast

• SNAIL PORRIDGE served Jabugo Ham, Shaved Fennel

• ROAST FOIE GRAS with Rhubarb, Braised Konbu and Crab Biscuit

• MOCK TURTLE SOUP (c.1850) apparently from the Mad Hatter Tea Party in Alice and Wonderland

• "SOUND OF THE SEA" (as an interim one would assume)

• SALMON POACHED IN A LIQUORICE GEL served with Artichoke, Vanilla Mayonnaise and Golden Trout Roe

• SADDLE OF VENISON and Beetroot Soubise, Risotto of Spelt and Umbles, Black Truffle

• HOT AND ICED TEA

• TAFFETY TART (c.1660) which consists of Caramelized Apple, Fennel, Rose and Candied Lemon

• THE "BFG" A Big Friend Gateau that comes with Kirsch Ice Cream and the smell of the Black Forest

• WHISK(E)Y WINE GUMS

• "LIKE A KID IN A SWEET SHOP" – I’ve no idea what this is but it’s clearly like Heston in his kitchen

Heston’s food sounds delicious and would sure to be a once in a lifetime taste experience. But, despite all his experiments and efforts the man himself has recently announced what it is that he craves: "A dirty kebab", a 70’s prawn cocktail ("not crayfish") complete with iceberg lettuce and a packet of Scampi Fries. Delicious Heston!