Chef Heston Blumenthal Defends $500 Price Tag for Fat Duck Australia Pop-Up

Chef Heston Blumenthal — whose famed Bray, England restaurant Fat Duck is popping up in Australia next year — has come under fire for the hefty price point of its tasting menu. The pop-up, which will take place in Melbourne, will cost $525 AUD ($475 USD) per person, excluding beverages. Not only is it more expensive (about $75 more) than the original price in England, but Good Food AU notes that this makes it one of Australia's "most expensive restaurants." Blumenthal believes the price is justified: "We're basically picking up the entire kitchen and staff from the Fat Duck and relocating across the world." Blumenthal must also house his 50 or so British staff for six months.

He also added that "the cost structure for the Duck is like no other restaurant in the world. It can take one chef days just to make one item for the menu. Dining at the Duck is four and a half hours of entertainment." In theory that's just over $100 an hour for a "multi-sensory gastronomic journey of history, nostalgia, emotion and memory." The reservation line opens October 8 and will close October 26. Fat Duck Australia will pop-up from February 3, 2015 to August 15, 2015.

· Heston Blumenthal Defends Fat Duck Bill [Good Food AU]
· All Fat Duck Coverage on Eater [-E-]