TV chef Heston Blumenthal got married again over the weekend, and this time he made sure it was official.
The Michelin-starred owner of The Fat Duck, known for delighting diners with surprising dishes like conch porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, exchanged vows with businesswoman Melanie Ceysson, 36, in her native France on Saturday. .
The wedding took place in a picture-postcard town in Provence, the area that inspired Blumenthal, 56, to become a chef.
His last wedding was in 2018 with another French woman, Stephanie Gouveia, the mother of his youngest son.
However, the Daily Mail revealed earlier this year that the ‘impromptu beachfront ceremony’ in the Maldives was not legally binding.
Michelin-starred The Fat Duck owner Heston Blumenthal (left) exchanged vows with businesswoman Melanie Ceysson (right), 36, in her native France on Saturday.
The bride (left) donned a classic ivory wrap midi dress by Emilia Wickstead, which retails for £1,420, while the groom donned a green Issey Miyake suit.
Heston Blumental and Raymond Blanc at Blumenthal’s wedding on Saturday
Heston Blumental and Melanie Ceysson at their wedding, eating edible candles
However, there is no doubt about the legal validity of his wedding to Mrs Ceysson, as the couple said ‘I do’ in a short formal ceremony in the village wedding hall.
The bride wore a classic white Emilia Wickstead suit, a favorite of British royals, while the groom wore a green Issey Miyake suit.
Later, the newlyweds held a reception at their nearby home for about 60 guests, including Blumenthal’s fellow TV chef Raymond Blanc, owner of the two-Michelin-starred Oxfordshire restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’. Saisons, former BBC Director General Lord Birt and Great British Menu judge Matthew Fort.
Blanc, 73, told the Daily Mail: “Ever since Heston spent too short a week in my kitchen, I have loved his fire and creativity.” Over the years he has helped me improve, and I hope I have helped him too. That’s our special bond, so of course it had to be here.
Guests were served a number of Blumenthal’s signature dishes from his restaurants, including oyster and passion fruit jam, fruit meat, triple-cooked hash browns and scotch eggs.
Known as a culinary showman, Blumenthal showed his joy by decorating tables with candles that turned out to be edible.
The chef’s last wedding was in 2018 to another French woman, Stephanie Gouveia, the mother of his youngest child, but it was not legally binding (pictured with Mrs. Gouveia)
The chef has credited his first wife, Zanna, with raising their three children while he built his career and has previously said that she was the “main reason” for his success.
Serving the menu was a team of chefs and reception staff flown in from his British restaurants, including Berkshire’s The Fat Duck (Heston Blumenthal outside his restaurant, The Fat Duck).
Raymond Blanc (pictured) was among the guests at the intimate wedding and reception. He told the Daily Mail that he ‘had to be there’ (file image)
Serving the menu was a team of chefs and reception staff drawn from his British restaurants, The Fat Duck and the Hind’s Head in Bray, Berkshire, and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, at London’s Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
Blumenthal revealed in January that he had proposed to Ceysson, whom he met while she was working at a hotel in Val-d’Isere, the ski resort in the French Alps.
He was staying there for a Christmas break with his table tennis coach.
“I have found my other half,” he told the Daily Mail Diary. I am officially marrying Melanie.
The chef, who was educated at the £22,530-a-year Latymer High School in west London, moved to France in 2019, a year after having a son with estate agent Stephanie Gouveia, 35.
In addition to his five-year-old son with Stephanie, Blumenthal has three children with his ex-wife, Zanna, whom he divorced in 2016.
During their marriage, Blumenthal had an affair with American cookery writer Suzanne Pirret, who has said that her favorite things are “food and sex”.
Blumenthal and real estate agent Stephanie Gouveia pictured in 2019. They had a “non-legally binding marriage” after an impromptu ceremony in the Maldives before separating.
Heston Blumenthal was married to his ex-wife Zanna from 1989 until their separation in 2016 and they share three children.
Blumenthal had an affair with Suzanne Pirret (left) during his marriage to his ex-wife Zanna. He previously said that his favorite things are “food and sex”.
Last month, the chef became embroiled in a dispute with Waitrose after The Mail on Sunday revealed that the supermarket chain had decided to leave him after a 12-year partnership that saw him star in TV ads and help boost sales. .
Bosses of the Waitrose chain, owned by John Lewis, were said to have terminated Blumenthal’s contract, worth “hundreds of thousands of pounds a year”, after growing tired of his “unpredictability”.
This comment angered Blumenthal, who told the Daily Mail: “This is so disgusting.” I’m glad the contract has expired.
The chef’s latest innovations, including a banana and bacon trifle, failed to capture the attention of Waitrose shoppers and were seen in the reduced section of supermarkets.
The supermarket chain decided last month to fire the top chef after 12 years of partnership, despite the popularity of its previous ranges.
He suggested that the comment about his supposed ‘unpredictability’ was related to his genius for creating amazing new dishes.
“Unpredictable, to me, it’s a non-linear process that turns into creativity,” he said.
Initially focused on festive food, Waitrose’s Heston range proved very popular.
One year, his orange Christmas pudding was in such demand that it went on sale online at 15 times its retail price after it sold out in stores.
