Back To The Future

Robert May wouldn't cut it as a celebrity chef. His recipes are tortuous to follow, his ingredients are obscure, and he's never available for interview. Yet May is a role model for one of Britain's best-known heroes of the hob, multi-Michelin-starred Heston Blumenthal. May's The Accomplisht Cook, published in 1660, is one of the

sources that Blumenthal draws upon to re-create historic dishes. These will be featured at his latest venture, the Hind's Head Hotel, a 17th century public house with an oak-paneled dining room, 49 km west of London in the village of Bray.

It's just next door to Blumenthal's flagship, the Fat Duck, where he uses his knowledge of space-age science to concoct ethereal feasts. He's peppering the Hind's Head's menu with dishes that reach back to the roots of British cuisine. It can be a challenge: May's measurements include "a small bigness" and "as much flour as will lie on a shilling." But when the finished product hits the table, the taste seems worth the centuries-long wait. The quaking pudding, a light, set-milk dessert, probably hasn't wobbled this deliciously since King Charles II beckoned Nell Gwynne to try a spoonful.

The spring menu will feature a tangy lemon salad made from an antique variety of the fruit and a tart of bread — an ancestor of today's treacle tart. The panache with which the poster boy for futuristic food serves up these venerable dishes shows that while history repeats itself, Blumenthal sure doesn't. www.thehindsheadhotel.com