Nearly six years after their relationship broke down, celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal divorced his wife of 28 years, Zanna, in a Central Family Court hearing today.

The Michelin star chef, 50 years old, was seeking a divorce from Zanna, real name Susanna, his childhood sweetheart whom he married in 1989, on the grounds that the marriage had irretrievably broken down. The couple, who sold their home in the nineties to start Blumenthal’s signature restaurant The Fat Duck, have three adult children, Jack, Jessie and Joy, together.

The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday (April 26th) that District Judge Anne Hudd granted the decree nisi in just 90 seconds, with the pair having settled their financial and business arrangements satisfactorily.

Heston BlumenthalHeston Blumenthal has divorced his wife of 28 years

Blumenthal, famed for his unusual styles of cooking and extravagant, highly technical recipes, moved out of the home that he and Zanna shared in Buckinghamshire back in 2011. Since then, he has lived in Barnes, in south west London.

More: Heston has best cookbook, but Nancy Silverton wins James Beard’s main prize [archive]

For a short time afterwards, he dated American cookbook author Suzanne Pirret, 51, and has recently been linked with French real estate broker Stephanie Gouveia.

Though neither party was present for the hearing, in court papers the chef reportedly said: “we have reached an agreement in financial proceedings which is in full and final satisfaction of all claims for legal costs including of this divorce suit.”

Several years ago, Blumenthal credited Zanna as a major part of his success as a chef, when he became internationally famous around a decade ago. He described her as “the reason for my success because she has supported me every step of the way. She's sacrificed so much and has never complained.”

More: Heston Blumenthal moves his Fat Duck restaurant from Berkshire village to Melbourne casino [archive]