The Thin Duck: Heston Blumenthal’s new menu for diners on weight-loss jabs | Heston Blumenthal

Looking at the bill after a Michelin star meal, the first thought of the average restaurant is generally not: “I would have liked to have less food for that.”

But Heston Blumenthal proposed a new menu for this feeling, suitable for reflecting a growing demand for smaller portions, driven by weight loss drugs.

The restaurateur and the head of the television claims that his alternative selection of tasting courses at Fat Duck will provide the same flavor and the same theater for less avales – including those who take drugs to the abolition of appetite such as Wegovy and Mounjaro – but in reduced quantities.

When booking at the Bray world renowned restaurant, Berkshire, the guests can choose the conscious experience, which offers all the same creations as the usual menu, the trip. These include nitro aperitif, a puff of frozen cocktail with liquid nitrogen, and the crab and the fruit of passion 99 ‘, which reinvents a cone of ice by the sea.

However, the size of the portions is reduced by approximately 20% to 30% per dish and, in some cases, up to 50%, while the price is £ 75 head to £ 275.

The offering reflects a rush to adapt to changing tastes, because other GLP-1 drugs such as Saxenda become more common in the United Kingdom as an obesity treatments.

Blumenthal was himself prescribed Mounjaro to help manage the won weight as a side effect of his drugs for type 1 bipolar disorder. “What struck me is the feeling of not being hungry,” he said to the goalkeeper.

“I always wanted to eat, but I didn’t feel this conduct. It made me think – it will kill the catering industry, because if people do not eat as much, restaurants will not be as attractive. I don’t know what will happen to supermarkets either.

“I don’t think this change is bad for health. It could actually be very good for people. But that will affect alcohol, wine, food consumption, even supermarkets. I even heard that airlines could save money on fuel. This will only degenerate in the coming months, and already millions of people are on these drugs. ”

According to the manufacture of industry publication food products, 37% of British consumers now cite weight loss as their highest health priority. The research presented during a Ukhospity seminar earlier this year has shown that 7% of British adults, around 3.6 million people used these drugs.

Companies whose models have been upset include weight observers, which emerged from bankruptcy protection in the United States after having amassed more than $ 1.4 billion (1 billion pounds sterling) of debt and now recommends GLP-1 blows alongside its usual life change advice.

The wider food industry is also preparing for change, although the effects can be progressive. Morgan Stanley analysts believe that the consumption of sparkling sparkling drinks, pastries and savory snacks in the United States could drop up to 3% by 2035.

However, some in the industry said they did not provide a significant impact on sales, as taking medication could remain relatively low. Other food manufacturers are already making changes: Nestlé, for example, develops higher products rich in nutrients to meet the needs of consumers who eat less overall.

Consumer champion Martin Newman says: “We already see other hotel companies swinging. In the United States, brands like Chipotle, Sweetgreen and Panera have widened lighter and protein-rich menu ranges designed for people who eat less … Here in the United Kingdom, restaurant groups are developing much more “lighter choice” and delivery platforms such as delivery and protein are much more visible.

“Weight loss drugs are no longer a niche … It is a change in lifestyle and not a fashion. Therefore, eating outside must adapt. ”

Newman says that some operators can worry about “spending per capita to descend” with smaller portions, but that “lacks the situation as a whole”. He added: “If you can align the restoration with the health objectives of people, you will increase the frequency and protect loyalty.”

Blumenthal, who has built a career on innovation and exploration of food science, says that his new menu reflects these changes. “Millions of people eat much less food, drink less, losing interest in restaurants, lose interest in food,” explains the chef. “For more than a decade, I say that conscious food has been one of the keys to happiness and mental health.”

Blumenthal adds that conscious diet can be applied beyond gastronomy, even simple meals. But in the case of Fat Duck, the new menu is designed specifically to respond to changing appetites. “Sometimes the less is really more.”

Trish Caddy, Mint analysts, maintains that if weight loss is starting to affect meals in the United Kingdom, their impact remains limited. “These drugs are expensive and highly regulated, restricting their usually use for richer consumers. The smaller menu of Heston Blumenthal seems to be suitable for this group, highlighting an evolution towards meals concerned with their health rather than a change of mass market. ”

The Fat Duck says that the price of the two menus reflects the nature of the high intensity service of labor in the restaurant, which works with almost as many chefs and servers as guests during a session.

The restaurant famous for its 30th anniversary, three decades after the opening on August 16, 1995. Originally a brewery, it quickly became famous for its experimental molecular gastronomy, producing dishes such as snail porridge and Bacon and Gara-Euf ice cream. The restaurant quickly increased in the Michelin ranks, winning three stars in 2004, and the following year was named the best restaurant in the world, the only British place to have never taken the first place.

“The appetite suppressors are here in large numbers,” explains Blumenthal. “The way we eat changes. Restaurants will have to change with. “