Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal explaining how his Fat Duck restaurant is going to work in Melbourne
HESTON Blumenthal fans say Crown Resort has “majorly stuffed up” the ballot process for securing a table at the Melbourne branch of his restaurant The Fat Duck, which opens in February.
Demand for a table at the restaurant was so high that potential diners were asked to enter an online ballot system last month. Successful applicants were then “indiscriminately selected” by an independent third party.
All applicants — both successful and unsuccessful — were supposed to be notified of the ballot results via email on Monday night. But many are still in the dark and have not received any email at all.
Lauren, who preferred not to give her last name, is a huge Heston Blumenthal fan but is yet to receive an email from Crown Melbourne indicating whether or not she has received a table.
Heston Blumenthal is bringing his famous restaurant The Fat Duck to Melbourne next year. Photo: Alisa Connan.
“It’s really bad. I called Crown and they said according to their records, they haven’t sent me an email. At first they told me I must have entered my email address incorrectly and to check my junk folder. But I don’t think I was even in the ballot in the first place because they stuffed up my entry.
“I know loads of other people who applied for the ballot and only two who received emails. Both were rejections. It just doesn’t seem right. There can’t have been that many people who all entered their email addresses incorrectly.”
News.com.au has been contacted by many people in Lauren’s situation who were still waiting to receive an email.
Do you know more? Email rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au
A dish at The Fat Duck — salmon in licorice. Source: Supplied
Crown Melbourne told The Courier Mail it received 89,179 entries worldwide in the online ballot. On an average three person per table booking, that equates to a staggering 267,537 people. But as the restaurant is only open for 6 months from February 3, only 14,000 diners were chosen to dine at the restaurant when it opens on February 3.
The Fat Duck is a Michelin-starred restaurant which has enjoyed nine years on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Blumenthal is moving the UK-based restaurant to Melbourne for six months next year. The 15-course meal costs $525 (excluding drinks), and will feature Blumenthal’s iconic dishes such as Sound of the Sea, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and Snail Porridge.
A Crown Resorts spokesman told The Courier Mail there is a huge wait list for the thousands of food lovers who had missed out.
“We are now contacting all entries to advise of results, confirming reservations and advising if unsuccessful and compiling a wait list,’’ a spokesman said.
Jason Pike received an email saying he has missed out on a table.
“I think I was a little more disappointed than my wife,” he told news.com.au. “We live in Perth so it would have been pretty expensive. But we are lucky enough to have eaten at the The Fat Duck in Bray and Dinner in London [another Blumenthal restaurant] before.”
Jaymie Rowland, from Sydney, was one of the luck ones.. Her partner’s request for a four-person table was successful.
“Going to The Fat Duck has always been on my wish list,” she said. “It really is a once in a lifetime experience. There was some dancing, Facebook and Instagram gloating,” she joked.
News.com.au has repeatedly contacted Crown Resort Melbourne but we are yet to receive a response.
Did you miss out on a table at The Fat Duck Melbourne? Are you still waiting to receive any email at all? Comment below or get in touch on Twitter @beck_sullivan
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