''He said, 'I'm opening down there a couple of hundred yards.' There was a pub, which was pretty grotty. He says he's going to turn it into a gastro-pub. I said, 'If you need anything, call on me.' And he did on occasion.

''His food was classic food, a little bit French, modern. Then he decided to move towards scientific food. I had no bloody clue what was going to happen.''

That was 14 years ago and since then Bray has become more famous for Blumenthal's Fat Duck than for the Roux family's Waterside Inn, which has held three Michelin stars for 27 years. Roux, whose favourite cuisine is Italian for its pristine ingredients and home style, and whose cooking is classic French, nevertheless has huge admiration for Blumenthal's achievement.

''Heston is not a madman. Heston has got a palate, he can taste food,'' Roux says from his home in Switzerland. ''Before being a great chef you've got to be a great gourmet, and he is.

''His food is not busy on the plate. His food is very clean. His flavours are unique and it's an experience. You go for an experience. You go there, you study the food, your mind's blown and you're fine for a year or two. You're not going to eat Heston Blumenthal food every week.''

It's not all perfection - the famous bacon-and-egg ice-cream Roux dismisses as ''funny'', and he doesn't mean side-splitting, but Blumenthal is someone who has contributed real ''bricks and mortar'' to the development of world cuisine, Roux says.

Roux is married to an Australian whose family lives in Tasmania and he has visited Australia regularly for 30 years. Back then, he says, while there were important chefs such as Damien Pignolet, Neil Perry - still one of the best, he believes - Tony Bilson, Greg and Peter Doyle and Stephanie Alexander, there was little in the way of special ingredients. ''You didn't have any salmon - proper salmon - cheese was unknown, [as were] fresh herbs, truffles.

''You go to a farmers' market now, or you to a supermarket, and it's got bugger-all to do with what it was 30 years ago. The evolution is not an evolution, it is a revolution.

''To say there was nothing would have been a lie, but to say that nothing has changed would be a lie, too. But it's mainly due to the availability of ingredients. You grow them now. Look at the truffle - you are farming truffles in Australia. Bloody good. They are fantastic. I love the marron and lobster, seafood, fish.''

Roux believes freedom and top ingredients define Australia's cooking and are its gift to world cuisine. But there is a downside to culinary freedom. Things can get ''a bit crazy''.

''The only thing is that it's been so quick that sometimes people get carried away and the food can sometimes be better to look at than to eat. That's my opinion and, again, I'm not saying everywhere. I'm just saying young chefs should be careful about the way they cook. Less is better than more.

''Sometimes young people don't know better and you get confusion. You should never put something delicate with something strong and I've seen that on a couple of occasions in Sydney. It can be sublime and it can be so over-the-top that it is a shame.''