Heston Blumenthal launches Ozempic menu at the Fat Duck

Heston Blumenthal’s the Fat Duck has launched a “scaled-down” version of its tasting menu in response to the fast-growing demand for appetite-suppressing GLP-1s, such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro.

The Mindful Experience tasting menu is designed as a smaller version of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant’s Journey tasting menu – with guests able to choose which they prefer.

The original menu is priced at £350, while the new Mindful Experience version is £275.

Blumenthal, who himself has been taking Mounjaro to combat the weight gained as a side effect of his medication for type 1 bipolar, said: “One of the unanticipated effects of taking Mounjaro has been that I’ve become even more aware of my tastebuds and how hunger works, and I’m eating in a more mindful, focused manner.

"Mindful eating can of course be applied to any experience – even an airline meal or a store-bought sandwich on your lunchbreak – but this new version of the Fat Duck menu is carefully tailored to a growing demand for a different restaurant experience."

Appetite suppressants drugs help users lose an average of 15% to 20% of their body weight by making them feel full and want far less food and drink.

Research by Morgan Stanley found that 63% of people on Ozempic-like drugs order “considerably less” when dining out than they would have done before they were prescribed the drug, which is beginning to impact the restaurant industry.

KAM Insight research said up to 7% of UK adults – almost 4 million people – are currently using GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which is about the same proportion of the population who are vegetarian.

Meanwhile, Mintel research found that a quarter of UK adults are interested in using weight-loss drugs.

Blumenthal added: “Millions of people are eating much less food, drinking less, losing interest in restaurants, losing interest even in food.

“Sometimes, less really is more. Sometimes, depending on your mood and how you’re feeling – how your gut is feeling – you might well just desire less of everything. Sometimes, equally, you might just want to focus on taking your time with each and every mouthful and slowly exploring its effect on all of your senses. The Mindful Experience offers a way of satisfying these needs.

“People used to joke that the portions on a tasting menu were so small that you had to grab a burger on the way home. But now, as our needs and expectations and appetites change, maybe this carefully structured menu is the perfect answer to what many people are looking for.”

Blumenthal is not the only operator to understand this shift in consumer eating habits. From fine dining restaurants like the Fat Duck, as well as Otto Tepassé’s French restaurant in London’s Clerkenwell and the Savoy hotel’s restaurants, all the way through to Greggs on the high street – operators are having to respond to this new trend.

To learn more, read The Caterer’s feature: The Ozempic movement: Can restaurants survive in the new age of weight-loss drugs?