Heston Blumenthal built his formidable reputation by creating unique dishes – from the likes of porridge with snails to chicken liver pate lollies.
But the TV chef has revealed his ‘manic imagination’ has been blunted by the drugs he has had to take following a mental health breakdown.
Blumenthal, 58, is now on only ten per cent of the medication he was given initially to calm him down while in hospital but he feels his ‘wow factor’ is missing.
As owner of Michelin-starred The Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, he has even served up a Sound of the Sea option that was eaten accompanied by a recording of waves and seagulls plus bacon and egg ice cream.
However, he said that has now changed.
Blumenthal, 58, was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for 20 days in late 2023 after his wife Melanie Ceysson, 36, called for help. Two policemen, a fireman, a doctor and an assistant arrived at their home to inject him and whisked him to hospital.
He was then diagnosed as bipolar last May – seven years after discovering he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
During those manic episodes, he would go up to three days without sleeping, he would feel he was Jesus Christ or Superman, he hallucinated a gun on a table, he would think the TV was talking to him and would ‘vomit ideas’.
Heston Blumenthal has revealed that the medication he has taken since a mental breakdown has removed his ‘wow factor’
Blumenthal, 58 with his wife Melanie. The Michelin-starred chef was admitted to psychiatric hospital in 2023 after his wife called for help
But he told the High Performance podcast that has all changed.
He said: ‘They’re tweaking my meds. I put a lot of weight on and also I calm down.
‘After a period of time, I was a bit like a zombie. And I still don’t have the energy that I had before. I’ve got to be patient.
‘I would like to return to the great elements of my manic imagination. I don’t want to lose that. It’s just been suppressed at the moment.’
Asked if he was mourning the loss of his old self, Blumenthal said: ‘No. I think that I have to weigh up the calmer side because that wonderful imagination, when it flicks the other side, it can get into anger.
‘It’s a bit like a toddler that’s running around laughing, playing, having a great time, and then something happens. And we say they’re over tired and they start having a scream.
‘The restaurant business is the business of emotion – and the importance of imagination.
‘Neuro-diverse, it’s finding something you love to do.’
Blumenthal also revealed his admiration for the late educationalist Sir Ken Robinson, who was knighted for his services to the arts.
Blumenthal admitted that he still doesn’t ‘have the energy that I had before’ due to the drugs
He said: ‘There was an amazing guy, the late Sir Ken Robinson.
‘He was one of the people I wanted to meet before I died.
‘And we became friends. And after his death, they asked five people to finish this sentence ‘Imagine if….’
‘Mine was ‘Imagine if we lived in a world without imagination’. You can’t imagine it.’
- The full interview is on major platforms on the High Performance podcast on Monday
