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What the duck? Diners scammed of chance to eat at Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant
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Aussie foodies are outraged they’ve been cheated of the chance to try snail porridge or bacon and egg ice cream.
What was supposed to be a fair online ballot for the chance to dine at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck restaurant has ended up in shambles after three finance workers effectively hacked the system.
They did this by hiring an IT expert in Asia, who was able to scam the online booking system by booking under fake names, Fairfax Media reports.
Now the three have more than 100 reservations at the three Michelin starred restaurant between them, which they’ve been gifting to friends and clients or selling on to colleagues at a premium rate.
Meanwhile, more than 250,000 genuine applicants have missed out on their chance to dine at one of the best restaurants in the world.
The popular restaurant will be based in Melbourne’s Crown Resort for six months from February, while its normal residence in England’s Bray is renovated.
Dinner will cost a hefty $525 per head, but some degustation enthusiasts have said online they pay more than double that to secure a ticket.
Crown Resorts spokesman Peter Crinis told Fairfax Media that Crown Melbourne was “committed to upholding the integrity of the ballot process and has flagged a small number of reservations for further investigation” and that he wanted “to ensure this process remains fair and equitable for all Fat Duck diners”.
