Lamprey Temporal range: Late Devonian–Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Petromyzontida or Hyperoartia
Order:	Petromyzontiformes
Families
Geotriidae Mordaciidae Petromyzontidae

Lampreys (sometimes also called lamprey eels) are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from a mixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers (lambere: to lick, and petra: stone). While lampreys are well known for those species which bore into the flesh of other fish to suck their blood, most species of lamprey are not parasitic and never feed on other fish.^[2] In zoology, lampreys are sometimes not considered to be true fish because of their distinctive morphology and physiology. The lampreys are the basal group of Vertebrata (hagfishes are actually not vertebrates, but craniates).

Physical description[link]

Basic external anatomy of the lamprey

Mouth of a sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus

Lampreys live mostly in coastal and fresh waters, although some species, (e.g. Geotria australis, Petromyzon marinus, Entosphenus tridentatus) travel significant distances in the open ocean, as evidenced by their lack of reproductive isolation between populations. They are found in most temperate regions except those in Africa. Their larvae (ammocoetes) have a low tolerance for high water temperatures, which may explain why they are not distributed in the tropics.

Adults physically resemble eels, in that they have no scales, and can range anywhere from 13 to 100 centimetres (5 to 40 inches) long. Lacking paired fins, adult lampreys have large eyes, one nostril on the top of the head, and seven gill pores on each side of the head. The unique morphological characteristics of lampreys, such as their cartilaginous skeleton, suggest they are the sister taxon (see cladistics) of all living jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes), and are usually considered the most basal group of the Vertebrata. They feed on prey as adults by attaching their mouthparts to the target animal's body, then using their teeth to cut through surface tissues until they reach blood and body fluid. They will generally not attack humans unless starved.^[3][4] Hagfish, which superficially resemble lampreys, are the sister taxon of the true vertebrates (lampreys and gnathostomes).^[4]

Lampreys provide valuable insight into the evolution of the adaptive immune system, as they possess a convergently evolved adaptive immunity with cells that function like the T cells and B cells seen in higher vertebrates. Lamprey leukocytes express surface variable lymphocyte receptors (VLRs) generated from somatic recombination of leucine-rich repeats gene segments in a recombination activating gene-independent manner.^[5][6]

Geotria australis larvae also have a very high tolerance for free iron in the body, and have well-developed biochemical systems for detoxification of the large quantities of these metal ions.^[7]

Fossils[link]

Lamprey fossils are rare because cartilage does not fossilize as readily as bone. The first fossil lampreys were originally found in Early Carboniferous limestones,^[8] laid down in marine sediments in North America: Mayomyzon pieckoensis and Hardistiella montanensis.

In the 22 June 2006 issue of Nature, Mee-mann Chang and colleagues reported on a fossil lamprey from the same Early Cretaceous lagerstätten that have yielded feathered dinosaurs, in the Yixian Formation of Inner Mongolia. The new species, morphologically similar to Carboniferous and modern forms, was given the name Mesomyzon mengae ("Mesozoic lamprey"). The exceedingly well-preserved fossil showed a well-developed sucking oral disk, a relatively long branchial apparatus showing branchial basket, seven gill pouches, gill arches and even the impressions of gill filaments, and about 80 myomeres of its musculature.

Months later, in the 27 October issue of Nature, a fossil lamprey even older than the Mazon Creek genera, dated 360 million years ago, was reported from Witteberg Group rocks near Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. This species, dubbed Priscomyzon riniensis still strongly resembled modern lampreys despite its Devonian age.^[9]

Taxonomy[link]

Some researchers have classified lampreys as the sole surviving representatives of the Linnean class Cephalaspidomorphi.^[10] Fossil evidence now suggests lampreys and cephalaspids acquired their shared characters by convergent evolution.^[11][12] As such, many newer works, such as the fourth edition of Fishes of the World, classify lampreys in a separate group called Petromyzontida (or Hyperoartia).^[13]

The lampreys entail the single order Petromyzontiformes and family Petromyzontidae.^[14]

The following taxonomy is based upon the treatment by FishBase as of April 2012. Within this order, there are 10 genera and three families:

Taxonomists^[who?] place lampreys and hagfish in the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata, which also includes the invertebrate subphyla Tunicata (sea-squirts) and the fish-like Cephalochordata (lancelets or Amphioxus). Recent molecular and morphological phylogenetic studies place lampreys and hagfish in the superclass Agnatha or Agnathostomata (both meaning without jaws). The other vertebrate superclass is Gnathostomata (jawed mouths) and includes the classes Chondrichthyes (sharks), Osteichthyes (bony fishes), Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves (birds), and Mammalia.

Relation to humans[link]

Uses[link]

Larger lamprey in a restaurant tank about to be cooked and served

Portuguese lamprey rice

Lampreys have long been used as food for humans. They were highly appreciated by ancient Romans. During the Middle Ages, they were widely eaten by the upper classes throughout Europe, especially during fasting periods, since their taste is much meatier than that of most true fish. King Henry I of England is said to have died from eating "a surfeit of lampreys".^[15] On March 4, 1953, Queen Elizabeth's coronation pie was made by the Royal Air Force using lampreys.^[16]

Especially in southwestern Europe (Portugal, Spain, and France), larger lampreys are still a highly prized delicacy. Overfishing has reduced their number in those parts. Lampreys are also consumed in Sweden, Finland, Russia, New Zealand, the Baltic countries and South Korea. In Britain, lampreys are commonly used as bait, normally as dead bait. Pike, perch and chub all can be caught on lampreys. Frozen lampreys can be bought from most bait and tackle shops.

Research[link]

The lamprey has been extensively studied because its relatively simple brain is thought in many respects to reflect the brain structure of early vertebrate ancestors. Beginning in the 1970s, Sten Grillner and his colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm have used the lamprey as a model system to work out the fundamental principles of motor control in vertebrates, starting in the spinal cord and working toward the brain.^[17] In a series of studies, they found neural circuits within the spinal cord are capable of generating the rhythmic motor patterns that underlie swimming, these circuits are controlled by specific locomotor areas in the brainstem and midbrain, and these areas, in turn, are controlled by higher brain structures, including the basal ganglia and tectum. In a study of the lamprey tectum published in 2007,^[18] they found electrical stimulation could elicit eye movements, lateral bending movements, or swimming activity, and the type, amplitude, and direction of movement varied as a function of the location within the tectum that was stimulated. These findings were interpreted as consistent with the idea that the tectum generates goal-directed locomotion in the lamprey as it does in other species.

Lampreys are used as a model organism in biomedical research where their large reticulospinal axons are used to investigate synaptic transmission.^[19] The axons of lamprey are particularly large and allow for microinjection of substances for experimental manipulation.

As pests[link]

Lampreys attached to a lake trout

Sea lampreys have become a major plague in the North American Great Lakes after artificial canals allowed their entry during the early 20th century. They are considered an invasive species, have no natural enemies in the lakes and prey on many species of commercial value, such as lake trout. Lampreys are now found mostly in the streams that feed the lakes, with special barriers to prevent the upstream movement of adults, or by the application of toxicants called lampricides, which are harmless to most other aquatic species. However, those programs are complicated and expensive, and do not eradicate the lampreys from the lakes, but merely keep them in check. New programs are being developed, including the use of chemically sterilized male lampreys in a method akin to the sterile insect technique. Research currently under way on the use of pheromones and how they may be used to disrupt the life cycle (Sorensen, et al., 2005) has met with some success.^[20] Control of sea lampreys in the Great Lakes is conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The work is coordinated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

Lake Champlain, bordered by New York State, Vermont, and Quebec, and New York's Finger Lakes are also home to high populations of sea lampreys which warrant control. Lake Champlain's lamprey control program is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. New York's Finger Lakes sea lamprey control program is managed solely by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Folklore[link]

Lampreys are called "nine-eyed eels" (i.e., per side) from a counting of their seven external gill slits on a side with one eye and the nostril. A German word for lamprey is Neunauge, which means "nine-eye".

In literature[link]

Illustration from an edition of Tacuinum Sanitatis, 15th century

Vedius Pollio was punished by Augustus for attempting to feed a clumsy slave to the lampreys in his fish pond.

...one of his slaves had broken a crystal cup. Vedius ordered him to be seized and then put to death, but in an unusual way. He ordered him to be thrown to the huge lampreys which he had in his fish pond. Who would not think he did this for display? Yet it was out of cruelty. The boy slipped from the captor’s hands and fled to Caesar’s feet asking nothing else other than a different way to die — he did not want to be eaten. Caesar was moved by the novelty of the cruelty and ordered him to be released, all the crystal cups to be broken before his eyes, and the fish pond to be filled in... – Seneca, On Anger, III, 40^[21]

Crassus was mocked by Domitius for weeping over the death of his pet lamprey:

So, when Domitius said to Crassus the orator, Did not you weep for the death of the lamprey you kept in your fish pond? — Did not you, said Crassus to him again, bury three wives without ever shedding a tear? – Plutarch, On the Intelligence of Animals, 976a^[22]

This story is also found in Aelian (Various Histories VII, 4) and Macrobius (Saturnalia III.15.3). It is included by Hugo von Hofmannsthal in the Chandos Letter:

And in my mind I compare myself from time to time with the orator Crassus, of whom it is reported that he grew so excessively enamoured of a tame lamprey - a dumb, apathetic, red-eyed fish in his ornamental pond - that it became the talk of the town; and when one day in the Senate Domitius reproached him for having shed tears over the death of this fish, attempting thereby to make him appear a fool, Crassus answered, "Thus have I done over the death of my fish as you have over the death of neither your first nor your second wife."

I know not how oft this Crassus with his lamprey enters my mind as a mirrored image of my Self, reflected across the abyss of centuries.

"Lampreys have been seen before attacking a human in the great lakes. The lamprey let go a few seconds later after realizing its mistake. The man (who chose to be not named) was taken to the hospital with various injuries." – From Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Mee-mann Chang et al. (2006). "A lamprey from the Cretaceous Jehol biota of China". Nature 441 (7096): 972–974 (22 June 2006). DOI:10.1038/nature04730. PMID 16791193. 
• Sorensen, P; Fine, J; Dvornikovs, V; Jeffrey, C; Shao, F; Wang, J; Vrieze, L; Anderson, K; Hoye, T. (2005). "Mixture of new sulfated steroids functions as a migratory pheromone in the sea lamprey". Nature Chemical Biology 1 (November): 324–328. DOI:10.1038/nchembio739. PMID 16408070. 
• Fisher (1994). Fishes of the World, Third Edition. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-471-54713-1. 
• Gess, Robert W.; Coates, Michael I.; Rubidge, Bruce S. (2006). "A lamprey from the Devonian period of South Africa". Nature 443 (7114): 981–984. DOI:10.1038/nature05150. PMID 17066033. 
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Petromyzontidae" in FishBase. February 2011 version.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Petromyzontidae

Wikispecies has information related to: Petromyzontidae

The Wikibook Dichotomous Key has a page on the topic of Petromyzonidae

• ITIS report on the lampreys, itis.usda.gov
• "Lamprey conservation", cfb.ie
• A Tree of Life diagram showing the relation of Lampreys to other organisms, tellapallet.com
• Lamprey skeletons, scienceblogs.com
• "Scientists from South Africa discover world's oldest fish fossil", News report on 27 October 2006 Nature article, Pravda. (English)
• Alok Jha, Perfect lampreys show little change in 125 m years The Guardian (22 June 2006), guardian.co.uk
• Scientists find lamprey a 'living fossil', uchospitals.edu

Jonathan Bird's Blue World is an educational television program about the underwater world. The show is hosted by underwater cinematographer Jonathan Bird. This series airs on PBS stations in the US. The program is designed for family viewing, and each segment finds Bird trying to unravel a mystery, witness an animal behavior or explore an underwater environment. The first season consisted of 5 half-hour programs filmed in standard definition, and the second season contained 7 half-hour programs shot in high-definition. The second season won four New England Emmy Awards. The pilot episode from season 1 won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. Season three consists of 9 half-hour programs in HD and will be released August 29, 2011. The program is magazine format with each television episode consisting of 2-3 segments. These segments appear individually on the Blue World website as webisodes.

Jonathan Bird

Season 1[link]

Episode 1: Blue Shark Adventure, Underwater Cavern, Giants of the Depths

Episode 2: Swimming with Jaws, The Bandana Game, The Shark and the Whale

Episode 3: A Sharkwreck Mystery, Sea Cows, The Shark with the Long Tail

Episode 4: Wilma the Whale, The Prinz Eugen, The Mysterious Hammerhead

Episode 5: Airplane Graveyard, Killer Clams, The Shark and the Lamprey

Season 2[link]

Episode 1: Aquarist for a Day, Mandarinfish, Whale sharks of Holbox

Episode 2: Manta Rays of Yap, Tropical Fish Rescue, Tiger Sharks

Episode 3: Sea Turtles, Mangroves, Wolffish

Episode 4: Cenotes of Mexico, Venomous Fish, Greenland Sharks

Episode 5: Sea Stars, The Real Nemo, Shark Feeding Frenzy

Episode 6: Lobsters, Remoras, Cayman Stingrays

Episode 7: Antarctic Adventure

Season 3[link]

Episode 1: Blue Holes and the Georgia Aquarium

Episode 2: Goliath Groupers, Coral and Camouflage

Episode 3: Sully the Pilot Whale and Cleaning Stations

Episode 4: Sea Lions and Humpback Whales

Episode 5: Jake Learns to Dive and Curaçao Dolphins

Episode 6: Sea Snakes, Symbiosis and Coral Spawning

Episode 7: Yucatan Sinkhole, Shark Biology and Ocean Defenses

Episode 8: Blind Cavefish, Coral Reefs, Bottom-dwelling Sharks

Episode 9: Sailfish, Potato Cod and Diver Ed

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jonathan Bird's Blue World at the Internet Movie Database
• TV Guide Listing

This article about a non-fiction television series is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Heston Blumenthal
OBE

Heston Blumenthal, London, June 2010
Born	(1966-05-27) 27 May 1966 (age 46) London, England, United Kingdom
Education	Self-taught
Current restaurant(s) The Fat Duck The Hind's Head Dinner by Heston Blumenthal The Crown at Bray
Television show(s) Kitchen Chemistry In Search of Perfection Big Chef Takes on Little Chef Heston's Feasts How To Cook Like Heston
Official website
http://www.thefatduck.co.uk/

Heston Marc Blumenthal, OBE ( /ˈbluːmənθɔːl/;^[1] born 27 May 1966 in London, raised in Buckinghamshire)^[2] is an English chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire which has been voted Best Restaurant in the UK and received a perfect score of 10/10 every year since 2007 by The Good Food Guide. Additionally, it was voted best restaurant in the world in 2005 by Restaurant magazine.^[3] Since that date, it was awarded 2nd place in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, 3rd in 2010 and 5th in 2011.^[4]

Biography[link]

Heston Blumenthal attended the Latymer Upper School^[5] in London for one year^{[citation needed]} before transferring to Lacey Green Church of England School until 12.^{[citation needed]} Blumenthal completed his studies at age 18^{[citation needed]} at John Hampden Grammar School, High Wycombe.^[6]

Blumenthal is entirely self-taught. His first paid job as a curry chef was when he opened his own restaurant, The Fat Duck. Prior to this, his only experience in a professional kitchen was a one week long work experience at Marco Pierre White's restaurant and 10 days' unpaid experience in Raymond Blanc's kitchen.^{[citation needed]}

According to an interview with The Observer in 2004, he has been cooking "seriously" since the mid-1990s.^{[Full citation needed]} In 1992, three years before opening The Fat Duck, he created his first ever dish, the now famous and often imitated, triple cooked chips. In 2002 he invested in the Riverside Brasserie with former Arsenal FC footballer Lee Dixon and Alfie Hitchcock, but two years later he sold his shares in the business to his former head chef, Garrey Dawson.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, The Fat Duck was awarded its third Michelin star. Blumenthal is only one of three British chefs to receive 3 Michelin stars.

Restaurants[link]

The Fat Duck

The Fat Duck is Blumenthal’s first restaurant which he opened in 1995 in Bray, Berkshire. It has won many awards and has consistently been rated as one of the top restaurants in the world. Blumenthal is a proponent of multi-sensory dining, which is evident in many of his dishes at The Fat Duck.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Heston’s first restaurant outside of Bray, opened at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London in January 2011 to great accolades from critics and diners alike. The Times food critic, Giles Coren, called it the “best restaurant in the whole wide world”. Blumenthal and his team worked with historians to develop the restaurant’s dishes which are inspired by historic British recipes.

Hinds Head

The Hinds Head is in Bray, a short distance from The Fat Duck. Blumenthal acquired the Hinds Head in 2004. It is located in a 15th century former tavern and serves traditional seasonal cuisine and historic British dishes. It has received many awards for its food. In 2011, it was named the Michelin Pub Guide’s “Pub of the Year”.

The Crown at Bray

The Crown at Bray is a Blumenthal’s version of a British village pub. Blumenthal acquired it in June 2010. It is located in a 16th century former inn and serves traditional pub food.

Books[link]

Blumenthal has had numerous books published. His first book was Family Food: A new approach to cooking in 2000. His second book was Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection in 2006 (in which he attempts to find the best way of preparing classic dishes, including fish and chips and Black Forest gateau). Heston Blumenthal: Further Adventures In Search of Perfection was published in 2007 and The Big Fat Duck Cook Book in 2008 published by Bloomsbury. "Heston Blumenthal at Home" was published in late 2011 and is currently in the top 10 in the food and drink category on Amazon's bestseller's list.

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook is a 532 page cookbook written by Blumenthal and published in 2008 . The book is divided into 3 parts. The first part contains an essay by Blumenthal recounting his history and that of The Fat Duck. The story is interspersed with semi-abstract illustrations by artist Dave McKean, relating to the story. The second part contains recipes, all of which were at one point on the menu at The Fat Duck, as well as a short story explaining the inspiration behind each dish. The third part is devoted to the science of cooking, with essays contributed by his collaborators.

Writing[link]

Blumenthal has written columns for The Guardian, T2, The Times and GQ. Along with the scientists on the faculty of Reading University, he co-wrote an academic paper on the taste and flavour of tomatoes called “Differences in Glutamic Acid and 5'-Ribonucleotide Contents between Flesh and Pulp of Tomatoes and the Relationship with Umami Taste” ^[7]

Television shows[link]

In 2005 he produced a series of six half-hour television programmes called Kitchen Chemistry with Heston Blumenthal which were transmitted on Discovery Science along with a book Kitchen Chemistry, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry and distributed to six thousand schools in the UK and Ireland. To date, it is the most successful book ever produced by the Society. He was ranked third chef by caterersearch.com in that year.^[8]

This was followed by two BBC series called Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection and Heston Blumenthal: Further Adventures In Search of Perfection. These series had higher production values, and followed Blumenthal's research and varied re-creation of classics of British cuisine and World Cuisine. The first series had seven episodes and included bangers and mash, fish and chips and spaghetti Bolognese; the second ran to eight episodes, and featured chicken tikka masala, hamburgers and Peking duck.

In the "Chili Con Carne" episode of the series In Search of Perfection he said that he was unable to participate in the MRI study of chili's effect on the brain as he had a metal plate inserted in his back after hurting it falling off a roof at the age of ten.^[9]

In the Christmas special of the second series of In Search of Perfection, Blumenthal milked a reindeer in Siberia to make ice cream and harvested Frankincense in Oman.^[10]

Blumenthal signed a two-year deal with Channel 4 in March 2008, joining the channel's roster of celebrity chefs which already included Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Gordon Ramsay. In January 2009 a three-part series of television programmes on Channel 4 covered his efforts to revamp the menu at a Little Chef motorway restaurant on the A303 road at Popham^[11] in the hope that his recipe ideas would be introduced in all 193 outlets.^[12] A follow-up programme was broadcast in October 2009. Following Blumenthal's revamp of the menu, the Popham Little Chef earned and entry in the Good Food Guide. The Little Chef group extended Blumenthal's menu to 12 branches and are now planning a major expansion across the sites.

In March 2009 Blumenthal began a short series of hour long programmes, called Heston's Feasts, showing Victorian, Medieval, Tudor, Christmas (including dormouse and venison) and Roman themed dinner banquets with various celebrities as guests. A second series of this was commissioned and began a few days after Easter 2010. In this series he created, among others, a Charlie and The Chocolate Factory-style feast,^[13] a Fairytale feast and an Edwardian style feast based on the last meal eaten on the Titanic.

From 22 February 2011, Channel 4 began airing Heston's new show, titled Heston's Mission Impossible, in which Heston targets lackluster food served in various industries and aims to update the food to things people enjoy to eat. So far broadcast are Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Cineworld, British Airways and The Royal Navy (aboard the HMS Turbulent).^[14]

Blumenthal has appeared on two episodes of Masterchef Australia, in series 2 and in series 3 called (Pressure Test 4)—Craig, Michael, Shannon and Rachel faced a Heston Blumenthal creation: a seemingly simple burger with chips and milkshake.

On 4 January 2012, Blumenthal's new television program, How To Cook Like Heston, premiered on Channel 4. The programme is aimed at home cooks, and features some of the more approachable techniques employed by Blumenthal.

Cooking methods[link]

Blumenthal is a proponent of modern cooking; he opened his own research and development kitchen in early 2004. It could be said that he is a molecular gastronomist, though he dislikes the term, believing it makes the practice sound "complicated" and "elitist."^[15] He holds multiple honorary degrees in recognition of his scientific approach to cooking.^[16][17]

One of his signature techniques 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–like dessert. The reduction in air pressure inside the jar causes bubbles to grow to a larger size. He has experimented with amplification to enhance the sounds, such as the crunch, created while eating various foods.

Blumenthal is a proponent of low temperature, ultra–slow cooking, whereby a joint of meat is cooked for up to 24 hours so as to contain the fat content while preventing collagen molecules from re-forming within the meat. In his In Search of Perfection series, he cooks a Bresse chicken at 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit). Ultra-slow cooking does not melt the fat or release many juices, making the creation of gravy impossible, but Blumenthal says that gravy is unnecessary as the meat itself is sufficiently moist.

Blumenthal is also a proponent of the sous-vide cooking technique. Sous-vide, which means under vacuum in French, is a technique that entails cooking something that has been vacuum sealed in a plastic bag. The sealed bag is placed in a thermostatically controlled water bath and held at a relatively low temperature for long periods of time. In the case of beef steak cooked using the sous-vide method, the steak is held at around 60 °C (140 °F) for a minimum of thirty minutes. The steak is then removed from the bag and is then seared in a very hot pan. Searing the outside of the steak not only improves the flavour and texture of the meat, it also kills the harmful bacteria on the outside of the steak that survived the water bath.

Signature Dishes[link]

Blumenthal's signature dishes include snail porridge, bacon and egg ice cream and parsnip cereal, mock turtle soup (which combines a multi-sensory experience with historical references), Meat Fruit and his Sweet Shop petit fours.^[18]

He has pioneered the use of sound as part of the dining experience with his Sound of the Sea dish where diners listen to a recording of the seaside - crashing waves with occasional sounds of distant seagulls, children's laughter and the horn of a ship, while they eat a dish of king fish, konbu cured halibut, balloting of mackerel with 5 different seaweeds, sea jelly beans and monks beard served on "sand" made from tapioca starch, toasted Japanese breadcrumbs, miso paste and dried seaweeds.^{[citation needed]}

Blumenthal is also known for his use of scented dry ice.^{[citation needed]}

Blumenthal and his restaurant "The Fat Duck" have been credited as instigators 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."^[19]

Historic influences[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2012)

Blumenthal is known for using British history in his dishes, television work, and books. He first became interested in British culinary history in 2000 when he was writing his book “Family Food”. The first dish he created based on a historic recipe was Quaking Pudding, which is on the menu at the Hinds Head.

British culinary history formed the basis for Blumenthal’s Feast Series. One of Blumenthal’s signature dishes at his restaurant, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, is Meat Fruit which he first developed for the Feast Medieval episode. Blumenthal said in the programme,” When I first started looking at historic recipes, particularly recipes from medieval times, there was one dish that really attracted my attention, just because it was completely mad: Meat fruit. Literally, you took some meat and literally turned it into fruit. People in the Middle Ages believed fruit and vegetable were considered to have diseases unless cooked. With a typically wicked sense of humor, medieval chefs played on this fear by forming and painting meat to make it look like raw fruit. The idea being to shock and delight their diners.”

Blumenthal has worked extensively with historian Ivan Day and then those at Hampton Court Palace to research British culinary history.

Blumenthal is writing and researching a book based entirely on historic recipes.

Collaborations[link]

Blumenthal has collaborated with scientists, including:

• Professor Peter Barham, Professorial Teaching Fellow in Physics at Bristol University and author of the book The Science of Cooking
• Professor Charles Spence, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford, with whom he collaborated in experiments with the use of headphones during eating
• Professor Andy Taylor at the University of Nottingham with whom Blumenthal has sponsored a PhD studentship
• Professors Don Mottram and Margot Gosney of the University of Reading, which in 2006 awarded Blumenthal an honorary degree.^[20]

Heston is also a mentor for the British Airways Great Britons Programme,^[21] and will mentor an up and coming chef to produce a dish served on board flights in the run up to the London 2012 Games.

Honorary Degrees and Recognition[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2012)

Blumenthal holds multiple honorary degrees in recognition of his scientific approach to cooking.

In January 2006, he was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty The Queen in the New Years Honours List for his services to British Gastronomy.

In July 2006, Blumenthal was presented with an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Reading University in recognition of his unique scientific approach to food and long-standing relationship with the University’s School of Food Biosciences. Also in July 2006, Blumenthal was the first chef to be awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Blumenthal received an honorary Master of Science from Bristol University in 2007.

Blumenthal is the first ever professional chef in the United Kingdom to be offered a Coat of Arms.[citation needed]

Awards[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2012)

Personal awards[link]

• GQ Chef of the Year - GQ Man of the Year Awards 2010, 2011
• Trophy Gourmand - Austria 2010
• GQ Personality of the year - GQ Glenfiddich Awards 2007
• Chefs Chef - San Pellegrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurant Awards April 2007
• Honorary Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship for “… distinguished person whose activities have been of significant development to the chemical community..” - July 2006
• Honorary Doctor of Science degree awarded by Reading University for recognition for his unique scientific approach to food and long-standing relationship with the University’s School of Food Biosciences.
• Summer graduation ceremony - July 2006
• Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen - January 2006 New Years Honours List
• GQ Magazine Chef of the Year - GQ Magazine Man of the Year awards 2004
• Chef of the Year - Good Food Guide, 2001
• Catey Awards Restaurateur of the year Award - Caterer & Hotelkeeper Magazine 2003
• Best Restaurant of the Year Award - Decanter Magazine, 1998
• Food & Wine Personality of the Year Award - GQ Magazine, Glenfiddich Awards 2004
• AA Guide chef’s chef of the year Award - AA Guide Publications 2002

Television and book awards[link]

• BAFTA nomination in the Features category for "FEAST" - British Academy Television Awards 2010
• The Features and Lifestyle Award for Heston's Victorian Feast - The Royal Television Society Awards 2009
• Food Book of the Year for The Big Fat Duck Cookbook - Guild of Food Writers Awards 2009
• Winner of Design and Production Award for The Big Fat Duck Cookbook - British Book Industry Awards 2009
• Winner of Photography Award for The Big Fat Duck Cookbook - James Beard Foundation Awards 2009
• Winner of Design Award for The Big Fat Duck Cookbook - International Association of Culinary Professionals Awards 2009
• BAFTA nomination in the Features category for “Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection”- British Academy Television Awards 2008
• Best Cookbook of the year Worldwide for Family Food “a new approach to cooking” - Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2004
• Best Children Cookbook for Family Food “a new approach to cooking” - Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2004
• Best Production “Heston Blumenthal – In Search of Perfection” BBC2 - GQ Glenfiddich Awards 2007

Restaurant awards[link]

• Third Best Restaurant in the World - San Pellegrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2010
• Second Best Restaurant in the World - San Pellegrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2009,2008,2007,2006
• Best Restaurant in the UK and 10/10 score - Good Food Guide 2008, 2009,2010,2011, 2012
• Conde Nast Traveller Innovation Award for “Chocolate Wine” 2008
• Best Overall Service - Restaurant Magazine Front of House Awards 2007
• Best Restaurant in the UK - Good Food Guide 2007
• Grand Prix de L’Art de la Cuisine - International Academy of Gastronomy 2007
• Gault Millau, 19/20 rating
• Gault Millau Guide January 2005
• 3 Michelin Stars - Michelin Travel Publications 2004
• Square Meal/BMW Best out of Town Restaurant - Square Meal Magazine, BMW Awards 2004
• Tatler Magazine Best Out of Town Restaurant - Tatler Magazine Awards 2004
• Catey Awards Chef of the Year - Catering & Hotelkeeper Magazine 2004
• Second Best restaurant in the World Award - Restaurant Magazine Worlds 50 Best Restaurant awards 2004
• Restaurant Magazine Best European Restaurant Award - Worlds 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2004
• Restaurant Magazine highest New Entry Award - Worlds Best 50 Restaurants Awards 2004
• Best Restaurant Award - Observer Food Monthly Awards 2004
• Good Food Guide accreditation 9/10 - 2004
• 2 Michelin Stars - Michelin Travel Publications 2001
• 5 AA rosettes - AA Publications 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
• AA wine list of the year - AA Publications 2002
• AA Sherry List of the year - AA Sherry Publications 2002
• AA Restaurant of Year Award - AA Publications 2001
• Best of the year in Modern European category - Hotel and Restaurant Magazine, 2000
• 1 Michelin Star - Michelin Travel Publications 1998

Bibliography[link]

• Family Food: A New Approach to Cooking (2002)
• In Search of Perfection (2006)
• Further Adventures in Search of Perfection (2007)
• The Fat Duck Cookbook (2008)
• Total Perfection:In Search of Total Perfection (2009)
• Heston's Fantastical Feasts (2010)
• Heston Blumenthal At Home (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of the Fat Duck restaurant
• Blumenthal's biography
• Heston Blumenthal's column in The Times
• Heston Blumenthal recipes at www.bbc.co.uk