The chef who brought snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream to British cuisine has been named Chef of the Decade.

Heston Blumenthal, who owns three-Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, claimed the number one spot after topping a poll of magazine readers.

The quirky chef beat fellow television chefs Gordon Ramsay and Raymond Blanc, who were runners-up. But in the poll of more than 800 Sainsbury’s Magazine readers, Delia Smith won two awards – recipe writer of the decade and cookbook of the decade with How To Cheat At Cooking.

Blumenthal is renowned for his unusual gastronomic creations, which include his infamous snail porridge and nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice cream.

In his Channel 4 series, Heston’s Feasts, the chef produced banquets based on historic periods such as Roman, medieval and Victorian.

The award comes almost a year after The Fat Duck was closed for two weeks after hundreds of customers fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea.

In the poll of more than 800 Sainsbury’s Magazine readers, Delia Smith won two awards – recipe writer of the decade and cookbook of the decade with How To Cheat At Cooking.

Helena Lang, editor of Sainsbury’s Magazine told The Telegraph: ‘As we say goodbye to 2009 we wanted to find out who and what had really influenced the shopping baskets and culinary skills of the nations’ home cooks.

‘Hot new chefs may come and go but Delia still rules the waves – both on my cookery book shelf and, it seems, in kitchens up and down the land, whilst forgotten cuts and dishes such as lamb shanks have re-emerged from the gloom of the post-war years to become once more supper party staples in these lean times.’

Jamie Oliver won Food Campaign of the Decade for his television programme, Jamie’s School Dinners, in which he campaigned to get healthier school meals.

Chocolate manufacturer Green & Black was voted Brand of the Decade and Innocent, which makes smoothies, was rewarded with Food Product of the Decade.

Other winners included Masterchef, which was named TV Food Show of the Decade and braised lamb shank was voted Dish of the Decade.

— Daily Mail