Bad news for Heston Blumenthal and his internationally-acclaimed restaurant in Berkshire. Over 400 of his guests fell ill after dining at The Fat Duck last week. The place has shuttered until the mystery is solved, a laborious process that has so far included having his 70 person crew ship their shits to the lab. No answers yet. The disaster is said to cost Blumenthal over £100,000.

Quite literally, it’s a major bummer. From the UK’s Daily Mail:

The number of diners said to have fallen ill after eating at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant has leapt to 400.

Health chiefs said last night they were investigating a ‘major sickness outbreak’ at the Michelin-starred eaterie in Bray, Berkshire.

Last week, when the celebrity chef shut the restaurant as a precaution, he said only a small number of customers had come forward complaining of vomiting and diarrhoea after eating there.

Initial estimates suggested around 40 were affected.

Mr Blumenthal had hoped to reopen the restaurant just days later. But since then the mystery over the cause of the sickness has deepened.

Environmental health officers and Health Protection Agency staff have begun further tests on the premises.

Last night the TV chef was said to be ‘upset and frustrated’ after being forced to delay the re-opening of his restaurant because tests have so far failed to identify the cause.

Experts are looking at contamination of food by bacteria or viruses which could have occurred at any time from the supplies arriving at the restaurant to reaching the plate.

They are testing all food from the restaurant and taking samples from those who have fallen ill, as well as checking members of staff, including Mr Blumenthal.

The HPA is also planning to contact diners who ate at the restaurant between January and February this year when most of the cases were reported, even if they did not fell unwell afterwards.

Video of his post-crisis interview with Guardian food writer Matthew Fort here. The Independent has the very latest, saying that a 1000 of Fat Duck diners face medical testing. They’ve also posted four theories as to the cause:

What could it be? Four theories

Food poisoning: Vomiting and diarrhoea are commonly associated with food poisoning and symptoms may present themselves days or even weeks later. Tests so far have found nothing to support this theory. The Fat Duck is an extraordinarily complicated and, by all accounts, spotlessly clean restaurant with 42 chefs who use “thousands” of ingredients. The problem may lie here or with one of its 30 suppliers.

Gastro virus: Experts are checking whether a stomach bug could have been passed by a member of staff preparing or serving the food. If infected, he or she may be showing no symptoms. Bacteria may be hanging around on kitchen surfaces.

Winter vomiting bug: This nasty illness – and flu – usually peak earlier in the winter. It is possible there is no link to the Fat Duck because the number of cases is still increasing, making this theory look less likely.

Sabotage: One national newspaper has hinted at sabotage, with reports that locals were unhappy about noise and fumes. This is thought to be highly unlikely but, with no other proven source, it cannot be ruled out.

Whatever the cause, it can’t be good for business. I know a lot of our readers are in PR, so let me ask you this: how do you recover from something like this?

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Andrew Morrison is a west coast boy who studied history and classics at the Universities of Cape Town and Toronto after an adolescence spent riding skateboards and working in restaurants. He is the editor of Scout Magazine, the weekly food and restaurant columnist for the Westender newspaper, a contributor to Vancouver and Western Living magazines, and a proud board member of the Chef’s Table Society of BC. He lives and works by the beach in Vancouver.

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