Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck to open in Melbourne on 3 February 2015

Heston Blumenthal has announced that the temporarily relocated Fat Duck will open in Melbourne, Australia, on 3 February 2015.

Earlier this year, Blumenthal said that he would relocate the three-Michelin-star restaurant to a 50-seat restaurant at the Crown Tower Resorts in the city's Southbank district while the original site in Bray, Berkshire, undergoes an extensive renovation.

Reservations for the Australian venture will go live from 8 to 26 October.

Blumenthal said that Australia's response to the news that the Fat Duck would make Melbourne its home for six months has been "absolutely overwhelming". "I am utterly humbled by the reception," he added.

The move will see the Fat Duck replicated in Melbourne almost in its entirety, including the multi-course tasting menu, service style, design pieces and every member of staff. Iconic dishes from the Bray restaurant, which will close in December, such as Sound of the Sea, Mad Hatter's Tea Party and snail porridge, will appear on the menu in Australia. The menu will cost AU$525 (£292) per person, exclusive of beverages.

One addition to the Melbourne restaurant will be the chef's table, where four guests per service will be seated in front of the pass, witnessing the kitchen's inner workings and interacting directly with the chefs.

Interest in the restaurant has been so high that a ballot process will be used for all reservations. Anyone seeking a reservation at the Fat Duck Melbourne can to register their entry at www.thefatduckmelbourne.com. Ballot entries will be accepted from 9:00am Monday 8 October through midnight Sunday 26 October 2014 (Australian Eastern Daylight Time).

No further reservations will be added once successful applicants have been randomly selected and the ballot process is complete.