In Search of Perfection

Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal attemps to transform some of Britain's favourite dishes, beginning with sausage and mash and treacle tart..

Chef Heston Blumenthal applies his techniques to British favourites, re-inventing them for the 21st century, he transforms the tired '70s dessert, Black Forest Gateau.

Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal applies his unorthodox 'molecular gastronomy' techniques to classic British favourites, reinventing them for the 21st century. He develops an entirely new way to cook a steak.

In his quest to make the perfect fish & chips, Heston first returns to a childhood haunt - a fish & chip shop in West London - his first time there since age eight. He realizes that the fish & chip culture in England is as much about the ambiance as it is about the food. Not being able to control ambiance, he focuses on the food. For the fish, the travels to Cornwall to test local varieties. His fish of choice, turbot, is an unusual choice and one that offers its own challenges. Because turbot is a flat fish, he has to figure out a batter that cooks as quickly as the thin fish fillet, yet still remains crispy. He turns to the Japanese and tempura for inspiration. For the chips, he ultimately wants to find potatoes that have 22% dry matter, which is the perfect percentage for good textured chips. However, measuring dry matter at home is a virtually impossible proposition, and thus he has to rely on potato variety instead.

Heston travels to Italy, visiting Naples in order to create the perfect margherita pIzza.

Roast chicken to Heston is a family meal and thus holds special meaning for him. The first order of business is to taste test different varietals of chicken to see which is the best as a roast chicken ingredient. The winning bird takes him to Lyon, France, where roast chicken is part of the everyday culture. Eating roast chicken in France also brings him back to memories of childhood. In the four step process to make Heston's perfect roast chicken, he is always taking into consideration the problem of moist meat versus crispy skin, as moist meat is accomplished by cooking at low temperatures, whereas crispy skin is accomplished by cooking at high heat. The final touch in his chicken is injecting the bird with added flavor just before serving. With his roast chicken, Heston makes his traditional vegetable accompaniments of roast potatoes, sautéed carrots and broccoli.

Heston turns his attention to the much-loved Spaghetti Bolognese. The recipe is broken down and dissected, with versions from the traditional to the radical being tried and tested.