"I would try doing a dish 30 different ways"
About this Quote
The line captures a mindset of relentless experimentation. Heston Blumenthal treats a dish as a hypothesis to be tested, not a fixed recipe to be followed. Thirty different ways implies changing one variable at a time and observing the result: temperature shifts by a few degrees, timing by seconds, the cut of the ingredient, the order of steps, the way aromas reach the nose, even the sound a texture makes when bitten. It is the scientific method applied to the kitchen, with taste as data and iteration as the path to insight.
This approach defines his career. At The Fat Duck he pursued multisensory dining, asking how memory, expectation, and context alter flavor. He leaned on food science, inspired by Harold McGee, to understand proteins, starches, and emulsions rather than trusting folklore. The famous triple-cooked chips came from cycles of parboiling, cooling, and frying that created a glassy crust and a cloud-like interior; getting there took repeated trials that would bore a less obsessive cook. Bacon-and-egg ice cream, snail porridge, and the oceanic illusion of Sound of the Sea grew from that same willingness to rework, recalibrate, and risk failure until the experience matched the idea.
There is humility in the statement. Repetition acknowledges that the first attempt is rarely the best, that good enough is not enough, and that craft is earned through patience. There is also empathy, because all that testing serves the diner: the perfect crunch, the warmth of nostalgia made new, the surprise that delights without confusion. In the era when modernist cuisine challenged tradition, Blumenthal pursued not shock for its own sake but understanding, searching for the why behind every technique so he could rebuild it better.
Thirty ways sounds excessive until the fork reaches the mouth and the result feels inevitable. The line is less brag than blueprint: curiosity, rigor, and the courage to try again.
This approach defines his career. At The Fat Duck he pursued multisensory dining, asking how memory, expectation, and context alter flavor. He leaned on food science, inspired by Harold McGee, to understand proteins, starches, and emulsions rather than trusting folklore. The famous triple-cooked chips came from cycles of parboiling, cooling, and frying that created a glassy crust and a cloud-like interior; getting there took repeated trials that would bore a less obsessive cook. Bacon-and-egg ice cream, snail porridge, and the oceanic illusion of Sound of the Sea grew from that same willingness to rework, recalibrate, and risk failure until the experience matched the idea.
There is humility in the statement. Repetition acknowledges that the first attempt is rarely the best, that good enough is not enough, and that craft is earned through patience. There is also empathy, because all that testing serves the diner: the perfect crunch, the warmth of nostalgia made new, the surprise that delights without confusion. In the era when modernist cuisine challenged tradition, Blumenthal pursued not shock for its own sake but understanding, searching for the why behind every technique so he could rebuild it better.
Thirty ways sounds excessive until the fork reaches the mouth and the result feels inevitable. The line is less brag than blueprint: curiosity, rigor, and the courage to try again.
Quote Details
| Topic | Cooking |
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