Radio Times

Review by:

Jane Rackham

If Heston’s attempt to make the biggest ice-cream cone in the world doesn’t make you smile, you can’t have experienced that childhood magic when you heard the chimes of the ice-cream van coming down the road – a 99.

Heston is in Gloucester, where a well-known ice-cream manufacturer is based. The factory turns out 7,500 miles of Viennetta every year – now there’s a thought.

Heston’s record-breaking cone is a massive task in every way. The scoop of soft ice cream will weigh over a ton and take a month to freeze, while nobody can figure out how to create a cone strong enough to hold it.

It’s typical Blumenthal lunacy, but he’s at his Willy Wonka finest when he decides to use mini-cannons to fire Twister and Cornetto-flavoured paintballs at the giant 99. Mr Whippy missed a trick there.

About this programme

2/7. Heston Blumenthal recalls the 1970s heyday of the ice-cream van and tries to kick-start a revival of this ailing British tradition by planning to build the world's biggest 99 Flake - taller than five metres and weighing in at more than a ton. With Europe's largest ice-cream factory at his disposal, he begins production with help from some of the experts behind the Olympic Stadium, and plans to serve his creation from the back of a van in Gloucester.

Cast and crew

Cast

Presenter

Heston Blumenthal

Crew

Executive Producer

Jenny Byrom

Series Director

Jay Taylor

Series Producer

Natalie Hill

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