Top UK restaurant closed as 400 diners taken ill (top-rated Fat Duck restaurant)

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 3/6/09 | Tim Castle

[NormsRevenge]

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – British health officials said on Friday they were investigating 400 potential cases of food poisoning linked to top-rated Fat Duck restaurant, run by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.

The award-winning restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, is known for its chemistry-inspired dishes such as bacon and egg ice cream and snail porridge, with many courses frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Blumenthal voluntarily closed the restaurant last month after around 40 diners complained of diarrhea and vomiting.

The Health Protection Agency said the number had risen to 400 after media coverage of its investigation.

"This is a very complex outbreak," said Graham Bickler, a regional director at the agency.

The agency said its probe would extend to all those who had eaten at the restaurant since late January, whether they reported being ill or not.

The restaurant, which has had a three-star rating from the Michelin guide since 2004, is co-operating fully with the investigation, the agency said.

Diners often wait months for a reservation at the Fat Duck, which seats 40 people and charges 130 pounds ($185) a head for its 17-course tasting menu.

[cripplecreek]

I would be taking a close look at the kitchen help.

[NormsRevenge]

Wiki .. fwiw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fat_Duck

The Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. The restaurant is known for its menu of unusual dishes, created following the principles of molecular gastronomy: examples include “snail porridge”, “sardine on toast sorbet”, and “salmon poached with liquorice”.

[basil]

Things like this make me more inclined to take my meals at home. I seldom eat out—or have fast food either. With the influx of no telling what sort of diseased illegals aliens coming into the country, I think there could be large outbreaks of diseases like cholera.

[autumnraine]

We JUST got through watching Rattatouie with my kids.

[rickmichaels]

That menu would give anyone a bad case of flaming hoop.

[NormsRevenge]

molecular gastronomy

I’ll pass 8-}

[familyop]

"dishes such as bacon and egg ice cream and snail porridge,...40 diners complained of diarrhea and vomiting...the number had risen to 400"

That would make for some projected streams that would be fairly ugly.

[Rebelbase]

My son got food poisoning today after eating breakfast out with his grandparents. Poor kid had to drive 10 miles home after checking out of school with is gut trying to blow out the lower end.

[max americana]

> known for its chemistry-inspired dishes such as bacon and egg ice cream and snail porridge, with many courses frozen in liquid nitrogen.<

My money’s on the liquid nitrogen.

[NormsRevenge]

Don’t give the Food Network any ideas for new shows. Chopped comes to mind.

or Better yet, send a couple of their iron stomach I’ll eat anything once show hosts.

[NormsRevenge]

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to be a cutting edge chef but..

Heston Blumenthal

[LibWhacker]

Boy, you don’t expect this out of a top restaurant. Inexcusable, really.

[cripplecreek]

I think I have good reason to be concerned about all the somalis working in food processing plants.

[skr]

Snail porridge|shudder}

[Hoodat]

When it comes to food, nothing in London should ever be ‘top-rated’.

[NormsRevenge]

3 star Michelin is up there.. a real shame.

No way I would pay 185 bucks to try and eat 17 courses

but I bet the dessert is good.

[ApplegateRanch]

Muslim problems?

Poisoning food with feces is detailed as a tactic in the Al-Qaeda manual found a few years ago by British intelligence. story here

An Algerian chemist is found guilty at Bristol Crown Court of contaminating food and wine by using his own urine and faeces. story here

Two shop-owners were today fined for selling chocolate cake - which had been sprinkled with human faeces. [snip} Shop owners Saeed Hasmi, 25, and Jan Yadgari, 23, were fined £1,500 for selling food unfit for human consumption. story here

A man who is accused of waging a urine and faeces-spraying campaign at two supermarkets, a pub and a bookshop caused £700,000 damage, a court heard yesterday.

Sahnoun Daifallah, 42, is alleged to have squirted a brown, foul-smelling substance from a spray container at four businesses in Gloucestershire on May 14 and 16 last year. story here

A cab driver in Dallas, Texas, was allegedly caught on surveillance video sprinkling dried fecal matter on cookies and pastries at a grocery store, according to a Local 6 News.

Police said that during an investigation, they found a pile of human feces by his bed. Investigators believe Nahidmobarekeh would dry the feces, either by microwave or just letting it sit out, grate it up with a cheese grater and then sprinkle it at the store. story here

Have fun Googling for more. I used the string: feces urine muslim "food contamination"

[stayathomemom]

I got food poisoning last 4th of July. I had made myself some pesto with what I had not realized were outdated ingredients. The vomiting hit me as we watched the local fireworks display from the roof of our house. I ended up needing to us some of my mother's Depends. I was sick for two days. I haven't had any pesto since.

[PAR35]

but I bet the dessert is good.

You can have my bowl of bacon and egg ice cream, then.