The Fat Duck, the three Michelin starred restaurant from Heston Blumenthal, has finally set a date for its opening on our humble shores. Tuesday February 3 2015 will see the famed restaurant open the doors to the 50 seat venue for a short, sweet, six-month stay, within Crown Melbourne. Bringing with it the entire staff, the entire dining experience, and even design pieces from the building in Bray UK. The last service will be on Saturday August 15.
We’ve always had the tendency to treat out big name chefs like rock stars. Photos with them at festivals, watching them on TV for seasons on end, and giving them all our money at their latest restaurant. But The Fat Duck Melbourne is taking this to the next level. The only way guests can get seats to this sought after venue is via a ballot system, almost like a three-day music festival.
The Ballot opens at 9am on Monday October 8, 2014 and closes at midnight on Sunday October 26, 2014 (Australian Eastern Daylight Time). You can only put your hat in the ring once, and guests will be drawn completely at random. So it doesn’t matter when you entered your name, it’s all a game of luck. This will either get you a seat at a table, or at the Melbourne exclusive Chefs table where you can watch the magic take place.
Enter the Ballot at thefatduckmelbourne.com from October 8, 2014 when the reservation system will be up and running.
Once you’ve got a booking, be ready to get the wallets open. The 15 course tasting menu will cost you $525 per head and that doesn’t include any drinks. For those who are familiar with Heston, they will be serving up iconic dishes including the Sound of the Sea, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and Snail Porridge. Game? Oh and it will take about four hours for the venue to run you through all of the courses. This should not be taken lightly folks.
If all this is too much, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will be taking The Fat Duck Melbourne’s place once the six months is up. Who knows how we’ll get a seat there.
The Fat Duck
Crown Melbourne
8 Whiteman St, Southbank 3006
Coming February 3, 2015
thefatduckmelbourne.com
