Como Group invests in British chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurants
Sign up now: Weekly recommendations for the best eats in town
The Como Group has bought into British chef Heston Blumenthal's restaurant holding company.
PHOTO: THE BUSINESS TIMES
SINGAPORE – Home-grown lifestyle entity Como Group has invested £2 million (S$3.4 million) in SL6, the holding company that runs British chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurants.
A spokesman for the group told The Straits Times that under the deal, the Singapore-headquartered company has the right to buy up to 50 per cent of SL6, which runs the three-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck in Bray in the United Kingdom, and The Hinds Head, a one-Michelin-starred pub near the restaurant.
The deal was completed at the end of March 2026. “This was an opportunity for supporting a world-renowned chef of immense talent,” the spokesman said.
The strategic investment is meant to help SL6 expand. Asked what these expansion plans are, and whether The Fat Duck or The Hinds Head might open outposts in Singapore, the spokesman declined comment.
In remarks quoted by British media, chef Blumenthal, 59, said: “I’m incredibly proud of how the Fat Duck Group has evolved over the past 30 years – helping to shape modern dining through curiosity, creativity and a willingness to do things differently.
“Partnering Como Group, with its extensive international experience in hospitality and dining, is an exciting step as we look to the future. Its expertise and global perspective will help us build on what we’ve created, giving us the platform to pursue our ambitions in a thoughtful and sustainable way.”
The Fat Duck opened in 1995 as a bistro. It has since become a destination restaurant, where diners wear earphones and listen to waves crashing while eating a course called Sounds Of The Sea, and tuck into bacon and egg ice cream and snail porridge.
The restaurant garnered its third Michelin star in 2004. Multi-course meals at the restaurant are priced from £285 a person.
Chef Blumenthal became interested in cooking at age 16, after dining at three-Michelin-starred L’Oustau de Baumaniere in Provence, France. The self-taught cook then went on to be one of the pioneers of molecular gastronomy.
His use of science in cooking has been showcased in his television shows, which include Heston Blumenthal: In Search Of Perfection (2006 to 2008) on the BBC.
He bought over The Hinds Head pub in 2004, and its current offerings include Scotch Egg (£8), Terrine en Croute with prune ketchup (£16) and Chicken, Ham & Leek Pie (£32).
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal opened in 2011 at the Mandarin Oriental in London. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant shuttered earlier in 2026. An offshoot in Dubai is a franchised restaurant that SL6 does not directly operate.
Como Group, with founder Christina Ong at the helm, runs a fashion, hospitality and dining empire. Its fashion stores include Club 21 and Dover Street Market, and there are Como hotels and resorts all over the world, in Europe, the Turks and Caicos, Thailand, the Maldives and Bhutan, among other places.
Ms Ong has also brought culinary icons to Singapore. They include French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who is behind The Dempsey Cookhouse and Bar; Italian chef Massimo Bottura, whose Torno Subito is also in Dempsey; and French pastry chef Cedric Grolet, whose maison is in Como Orchard in Bideford Road.
