Ferran Adria
El Bulli
Catalunya, Spain
http://www.elbulli.com
Spray-on sauces, appetizers in plastic tubes, cocktail cubes ‚Äî close to the Spanish village of Cadaques, where Picasso viewed the world in cubes and Dali imagined timepieces dripping from trees, Chef Ferran Adr√≠a seems to have invited the region´s mind-altering Zeitgeist into the kitchen.
El Bulli, his iconic restaurant, is near the sea, a challenging road trip that ends at his table. There a ‚Äòcrowd´ of 50 diners, the most the restaurant can seat, gathers to await his 32-course tasting menu. From menus impregnated with odors that conjure environments, martinis sprayed into the mouth, to a dessert consisting of water ‚Äî in four forms and textures ‚Äî the experience awakens the tasters to the endless possibilities of food, and the art of introducing flavors to the palate.
It is no accident that his book El Bulli 1998-2002, is structured like an art catalogue.
The amazing Adria started his restaurant career as a dishwasher. Working his way through restaurants and a stint in the military, he arrived at El Bulli in 1983 at the age of only 22. Adria and El Bulli´s owner, Juli Soler, quickly formed a bond. In 1985 they were joined by Adria´s brother Albert. Together they asked, why must food be like it is? And they began taking it apart, ‚“deconstructing,‚” separating flavor, texture, and appearance, then reassembling them in amazing and magical ways.
‚“Molecular gastronomy‚” is the official title that has attached.
This conceptual culinary art, in many cases, begins with Adria´s process of stabilizing liquids with ingredients he finds essential ‚Äî agar-agar and gelatin. Used in the right amounts, processed just so, they transform the dining experience. El Bulli is open only 6 months of the year, from April through September. The rest of the year is spent in the ‚“laboratory,‚” Adria´s and Soler´s El Tallers sparkling workshop in Barcelona. Here the whole team experiments ‚Äî and as with any scientific study, careful documentation of every step is a part of the process ‚Äî until they have dreamed up and created the tastes for the next season at El Bulli.
