How bipolar and ADHD shaped Heston Blumenthal’s creative genius
Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Channel 4 News
4.7 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Heston Blumenthal is one of the world’s most innovative chefs, known for transforming the way we think about food, flavour and the dining experience. From his self-taught beginnings to building one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world, his career has been defined by curiosity, experimentation and a refusal to follow convention. But beyond the kitchen, Blumenthal has also been navigating deeply personal mental health challenges that almost led him to death at one point.
In 2023, Heston was sectioned after his wife called medical professionals following a severe manic episode and bipolar diagnosis.
On this episode of Ways to Change the World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Heston Blumenthal about his approach to mindful and sustainable eating, living with ADHD and bipolar disorder, and why he is determined to challenge stigma.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Someone asked me if you had a button, so if you could turn off your bipolar, would you use it? |
| 0:06.0 | I said, let me if I could turn it on again. |
| 0:08.0 | Because there's bits of bipolar are fantastic. |
| 0:10.0 | Do you have a sense of how you've influenced cooking? |
| 0:13.0 | Only since, when I came out of hospital for bipolar, and I realized that I did change the world of cooking, but I didn't realize I was doing it. |
| 0:25.6 | Had I known how hard it was going to be before I did it, would I have done it? |
| 0:33.5 | I don't, I don't know. |
| 0:38.6 | Hello and welcome to Ways to Change the World. |
| 0:41.2 | I'm Christian Guru Murphy, and this is the podcast where we talk to extraordinary people about the big ideas in their lives and the events that have helped shape them. |
| 0:49.5 | My guest today is Heston Blumenthal, one of the world's most influential chefs, known for combining |
| 0:55.5 | cooking with science to transform the modern dining experience. |
| 1:00.1 | The self-taught chef rose to international fame with the Fat Duck, his experimental |
| 1:04.6 | restaurant in Berkshire, that went on to earn three Michelin stars and was named number |
| 1:09.7 | one on the planet in 2005 by the world's |
| 1:13.0 | 50 best restaurants. |
| 1:14.9 | Renowned for imaginative dishes like snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, Heston |
| 1:20.2 | has built a reputation for pushing culinary boundaries, exploring how memory, psychology, |
| 1:25.7 | and the senses shape the way we taste food. |
| 1:28.9 | He has also spoken about his own mental health. |
| 1:31.5 | In 2017, he was diagnosed with ADHD and in 2023 with bipolar disorder after being |
| 1:37.4 | sections and spending two months in hospital. |
| 1:40.0 | He's now an ambassador for the charity Bipolar UK. |
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