Heston Blumenthal has always prided himself on his innovation. A creative chef who looks so break down barriers in the culinary world in practically everything he does.
However, one of his more surprising forays of late were his efforts to change the landscape in which flyers dine at airports. Blumenthal launched the Perfectionists’ Café in 2014 based on his television series of the same name.
The restaurant is situated in Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 2, which has recently been redeveloped – a venture that costs a staggering $3.6 billion. The redevelopment includes a wide atrium, state-of-the-art check-in desks, glass sky lights to “accommodate the mood of passengers” as well as brand new extensive parking services such as long and short stay, valet, meet and greet and business options – all within close proximity of the terminal.
As part of the redevelopment, a slew of high profile chains were launched in the terminal but it was Blumenthal’s Perfectionists’ Café that garnered the most praise and column inches.
The Perfectionists’ Café is an eccentric take on “quintessential British food” such as a full English breakfast and fish and chips. Additionally, the restaurant has a nitro ice-cream bar that has been a revelation since its opening.
Blumenthal had further plans after the launch of the Perfectionists’ Café. Since the opening he has gone on to design British Airways in-flight meals to counter the bad press that bland airline food often receives. With Heathrow servicing approximately 170 destinations across the world, this venture has garnered Blumenthal huge exposure outside his usual markets and across the world.
With flight meals being a very “important part element of the on-board experience of long haul flights” BA have afforded Blumenthal the freedom to overhaul their standard meals. The airline has also partnered with tea brand Twinings to offer customers better tasting and higher quality English tea.
The celebrity chef has been working to curate a series of tasting menus for the first class travellers of BA, too. Unsurprisingly, such a menu is extremely extravagant and features a slew of challenging dishes to cook in a standard kitchen let alone 30,000 feet up.
Have you experienced any of Blumenthal’s on-board meals with BA or even visited his Perfectionists’ Café? If so, let me know what you thought of the experience in our comments section.
Photo by Simone Canetty-Clarke
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