Speaking to Restaurant, Blumenthal says that the popularity of such drugs, which mimic hormones in the body to help regulate blood sugar levels and also suppress a person’s appetite, has come to his attention and that it is something he wants to consider for customers at his three Michelin-starred Bray restaurant.
“We are going to look at reducing portion sizes and give options of a much smaller menu because with these weight loss drugs, Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovy, people are eating less and the quantities of food will put them off,” he says. “I want to do something about that.”
His comments come at a time when restaurants are being urged to take seriously the potential impact of weight loss drugs on the industry. Katie Jenkins, marketing director at KAM Insight, recently spoke at UKHospitality’s Future of Food seminar on how diet drugs are already transforming the way people eat, drink and socialise.
Describing such drugs as ‘the next big disruptor for the hospitality industry’, KAM says that 7% of UK adults are already using weight loss drugs, which equates to 3.6 million UK adults. Its research has also found that 32% of these users say they are going out to eat and drink less often and that 23% say they are drinking less alcohol when they do go out.
“This isn’t a niche dietary trend – it’s a disruptive shift in consumer behaviour and it’s one the hospitality industry cannot afford to ignore,” according to KAM.
Celebrating 30 years
Blumenthal was speaking about The Fat Duck, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. As part of the celebrations, the chef and his team have also created what they say is their most complicated dessert in the restaurant’s 30-year history. Called Pinot Noir Grape, the dish has its foundations in Blumenthal’s 2012 creation Botrytis Cinerea, which expressed the flavour profile of Château d’Yquem dessert wine, and is inspired by the wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC).
It contains at least 20 elements and more than 50 stages in its preparation - including a ‘soil’ made with dark chocolate, truffle, rose, parmesan, vanilla salt and cocoa nibs, and churros dusted with cep mushroom powder and was first revealed at the exclusive Fat Duck-DRC wine event held at the restaurant in July.
“My last supper wine would definitely be a glass of Romanée-Conti. Which shows you much I rate it,” says Blumenthal.
“Trying to recreate the flavour complexity of their wine in a dessert was of course a monumental challenge. But I believe we’ve done exactly that. In a way it’s as if we’ve been training for this dish for 30 years. My head’s teeming with ideas, and the team at The Fat Duck are committed and super-skilled, and we’ve dozens of ground-breaking techniques to draw on, like fluid gels and molecular gastronomy. The result is our most complicated dish – and one of the best.
“So, for The Fat Duck’s 30th birthday, I don’t need a cake, just a plate of Pinot Noir Grape. And maybe a glass of Burgundy…”
Blumenthal says that he is also considering bringing back the restaurant’s Topsy Turvy menu for a limited time. Introduced last year, the menu gave guests the option to eat their meal in reverse, starting with the restaurant’s Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop petit fours and Black Forest Gateau before moving on to savoury dishes including Beef Royale and Sound of the Sea and finishing things off with a nitro-aperitif palate cleanser.
A full interview with Heston Blumenthal will be published later this month.