Heston Blumenthal ‘thinking more clearly’ as he takes Bipolar UK ambassador role
The TV chef said he has received thousands of messages from people living with bipolar since opening up about his condition.
Heston Blumenthal has said he is back in the kitchen and “thinking more clearly” as he embarks on a new ambassadorial role following his diagnosis with bipolar disorder.
The TV chef and restaurateur said he hopes to change perceptions in his new role as an official ambassador for Bipolar UK, after he was diagnosed in November 2023.
The 58-year-old said that since speaking publicly about his diagnosis he has received thousands of messages from people living with bipolar.
“I laughed out loud after receiving a message from a woman who told me that during a manic episode she thought the TV was talking to her,” he told the PA news agency.
“The reason I laughed out loud was because I experienced the same thing.”
According to Bipolar UK, bipolar is an episodic disorder characterised by sometimes extreme changes in mood and energy which has the highest risk of suicide of any mental health condition.
Supported by his wife Melanie Ceysson, Blumenthal was admitted to hospital because of the condition in late November 2023.
The chef, famous for his experimental dishes such as snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, said medication he has been taking for bipolar initially dulled his culinary imagination.
“When I first came out of hospital the medications were so strong I was zombified – I had no energy at all,” he told PA.
“As my medications have been changed and my levels of self-confidence and self-awareness have gone up I realise my imagination and creativity is still there.
“It was at levels that were so extreme before… looking back I can remember during my manic highs I was interrupting myself with ideas.”
Blumenthal runs a number of award-winning restaurants, including the three Michelin starred The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, and said he is more involved with the restaurant than he has been in years.
“I sort of got tired of cooking, and after my hospitalisation, I spent the last year stabilising from it with the medication,” he said.
“I had lost my flow of things in the kitchen but it’s coming back – I have more clarity, I’m more lucid and I’m thinking more clearly.
“I’m now more involved with The Fat Duck than I’ve been for a long time.”
Embarking on his new ambassadorial role, Blumenthal emphasised the importance of support from loved ones and self-awareness in managing his symptoms.
He said he wants to work with Bipolar UK, a mental health charity, to encourage early diagnosis so people living with the condition can enjoy a better quality of life.
“I was diagnosed about 15 months ago but I realise I’ve had it for years,” Blumenthal said.
“Diagnosis is so crucial because it changes the perceptions of the people around you and it also helps you to understand your behaviour and how the condition presents itself via symptoms.
“If you don’t have the diagnosis then your behaviour can seem very strange to others so of course there’s a stigma around this because we all want to be perceived as normal.”
Bipolar UK estimates more than a million adults in the UK have bipolar disorder, around 30% more than the number of people with dementia, but it is estimated at least half a million people more are undiagnosed.
Blumenthal previously received a positive assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2017.
Before his 2023 hospital admission he said he experienced hallucinations and suicidal thoughts.
“I had suicidal thoughts which didn’t make sense, I hallucinated a gun on the table I could pick up,” the chef said.
“When bipolar gets extreme you can have visual hallucinations, you can also hallucinate sounds.
“I could hear a sound that’s outside my head – it could be a piece of music or somebody talking.”
Blumenthal, who was awarded his first Michelin star aged 32, said kitchens are generally much more supportive than they were 20 years ago.
“You still have ones where somebody will scream and shout, but they are generally a much better space to be in now,” he said.
Blumenthal said he worked 120 hours a week for the first 10 years of his career and recognised that stresses in the kitchen can lead to poor mental health for chefs.
“When you start cooking, you really do start from the bottom up, and that can be a lonely place,” he said.
“You’re also in an environment where you feel you can’t speak up.”
Blumenthal has credited the support of his wife, along with medication and therapy, for helping him to manage his condition.
Simon Kitchen, chief executive of Bipolar UK, said: “It’s an honour to have Heston onboard as an ambassador.
“We hope that his experience will encourage more people to seek help if they are struggling with their own diagnosis or are in the process of seeking one.”
