Heston Blumenthal compares the Aussie spirit to drinking instant coffee

Heston Blumenthal is the man behind two of the world’s most critically-acclaimed restaurants. But the chef, in town for the Grand Prix, wants to celebrate our give-it-a-go culture, even if it means drinking instant coffee.

Heston Blumenthal has compared the Australian spirit to having a cup of instant coffee without fear of favour.

Blumenthal, one of the world’s most celebrated chefs with Michelin-star restaurants including The Fat Duck and Dinner, said: “Australia is a very long way from Europe, where the historical, cultural influence of French and Italian cooking is really strong.

“Here, if you want to have a cup of Nescafe, then you have a cup of Nescafe. Here, no-one has the right to tell somebody else what to eat or drink.”

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Heston Blumenthal has appeared on MasterChef.

Heston Blumenthal admires a street art painting of himself outside Chin Chin in Melbourne.

Blumenthal made the comments at a Q&A session at his Dinner restaurant at Southbank on Wednesday night.

He will host a dinner in the pit lane at the Australian Grand Prix in the Minardi garage on Saturday.

That event is part of an Australian Grand Prix Corporation mission to ramp up food offerings, from budget to bling, at the Albert Park track.

Blumenthal credited Channel 10 cooking show MasterChef with changing attitudes about food.

“I’ve seen a food explosion happen (in Australia) so quickly and so impressively, than any country in the world. I think MasterChef had a big role to play with that.

“Unlike (reality shows like X Factor, people weren’t publicly humiliated. If they did something wrong they were told. When they got voted off, it was a celebration of what they’d attempted to do.”

“I think one of the areas that should be celebrated, and held on to, in Australian culture, is the fact people are prepared to have a go. More than any other country I’ve seen, they want to have a go, and that should be cherished.”