This week I’m at the Fat Duck. It’s an exciting, educational and awe inspiring experience. I have met chefs from all over the world; New Zealand, England, Ireland, Canada, and Argentina. There is an Australian who spends his days testing experimental recipes, an Italian chocolatier who looks like a mad scientist dressed in his lab coat holding a chocolate spray gun, and the most talented and educated chef I have yet to meet, ironically, from Los Angeles.  During my day spent in observation of the restaurant’s service, I desperately wished to morph into a fly on the wall; the tiny kitchen barely had enough extra space for my pinky finger. Oh but how the chefs work with finesee and talent, in such a small space they are able to create such beauty. Already I have seen and learned so much. I have made ice cream and sorbet, wrapped loads of caramels in edible wrappers, and watched how the lightest chocolates imaginable are made. Everything here is created with a bit of whimsy, as though it’s meant to bring out the inner child in each guest. And yet, as much as I believed I was a stickler for attention to detail, nothing I have ever experienced comes close to the intense level of standards that are upheld here. With three days left, my week is only half over, and it’s truly is rounding out to be an unforgettable time. Cheers until next week when I will be at another amazing point along the road of my European adventure!