Celebrity chef shuts Fat Duck as number of ill diners tops 400

Published on Friday 6 March 2009 21:02

THE number of diners said to have fallen ill after eating at the celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck has risen to 400, it was revealed yesterday.

The "culinary alchemist" had temporarily shut the restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, as a precaution, after 40 customers came down with a stomach bug.

The Health Protection Agency said the number of cases reported, going back to late January, has risen since media coverage started. The HPA is working with environmental health workers in Windsor and Maidenhead to investigate the cases of diarrhoea and vomiting.

Dr Graham Bickler, of the HPA, said: "This is a very complex outbreak. We are working closely with the restaurant and with colleagues in the environmental health team to explain what happened and to ensure that the risks of it happening again are reduced as much as possible."

A series of rigorous health tests was being carried out, but these had failed to identify the cause of the illness.

Blumenthal had hoped for the all-clear from environmental health officers on Wednesday, but the inconclusive investigation meant he was unable to reopen the Michelin-starred restaurant.

The Fat Duck remained closed yesterday as tests were carried out on all of Blumenthal's employees, and samples were taken from diners who reportedly fell ill after a meal.

A risk assessment of all food storage, preparation and cooking processes was also taking place and experts were examining the possible contamination of food by germs – either bacterial or viral.

The HPA now plans to run further studies on all those who ate at the restaurant during the past couple of months, irrespective of whether they reported sickness.

The investigation has so far led Blumenthal's team to rule out sabotage and food poisoning as possible causes of the bug.