Star chefs say: stop taking those photos
Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal is hugely annoyed by guests who take photos of every course and every dish in his restaurant. ‘Sometimes we want to say: your food is getting cold.’
Blumenthal is the famous chef of The Fat Duck, a three-star restaurant in Bray, Great Britain. The restaurant is famous for its pioneering role in molecular cuisine. Those dishes often look spectacular, and guests then think not only about their appetite, but also about their Instagram account. A shame, says the chef. He understands that presentation matters too, but he believes that food is primarily about smelling and tasting – and that doesn’t happen when people first use their mobile phone or camera to determine the perfect angle, lighting and crop.
Flash photography prohibited
In an article in the Belgian food magazine Ambiance, the chef says that the problem is often discussed in his kitchen. He resists the temptation to intervene because he doesn’t want to upset guests. ‘We’ve been talking about it here for years. Sometimes we just want to say that their food is getting cold.’ But when flashes are involved, the star chef does intervene. ‘It bothers other guests.’
‘What are they doing?’
The town of Bray also has another three-star restaurant, Waterside Inn, run by French brothers Michel and Albert Roux. They go even further: there is a sign on their door warning guests that photography is not allowed. Michel Roux had had enough. He explained it to the Daily Mail: ‘What are these people doing? You can’t capture flavours in a photo!’
Read also:
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