What I’m talking about is taking cooking to the next level, as demonstrated by the renowned and very talented Chef Ferran Adrià. He has been called the most impactful chef of this era by Dr. Tim Ryan, President of the Culinary Institute of America. Ferran Adrià has also been called "the Salvador Dalí of the kitchen."
Photo:Ferran Adrià (By Sonno Pazzi)
Ferran Adrià was born in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona in 1962. He is currently the head chef and co-proprietor of El Bulli restaurant, which is situated on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. El Bulli is definitely a place worth going to to experience his culinary creations! …Which is actually not that simple. Why?
The reason why it’s not that easy to get to his restaurant and actually get a table is that they only take about 8,000 guests every year. And they get about 2,000,000 requests a year!
How does that sounds? I would say bizarre!
And, another important fact: they are open for only six months a year!
You’re probably asking yourself why that is. Well, if you think about it, I guess the answer is quite simple.
Creating such eye-opening tapas dishes can’t happen overnight. You need to think… a lot! Transfer your thoughts onto a piece of paper, pull them together to create a cohesive dish. And when you have an idea for a dish, you have to cook it, sample it, taste it, taste it again, apply the best techniques, pay attention to detail. And we’re only talking about one dish. But, of course, there’s not just only one dish to create. You’d need to create a complete, amazing menu.
Everything, every aspect of cooking is very involved: the portion sizes, seasoning, texture. The actual physical plate is very important, as well, because you can’t just serve these particular appetizers and entrées on whatever plate you want, now can you? The execution, the final touch—they have to be perfect.
If not, all this effort and hard work will have been for nothing.
I love this stuff. And this it what makes me even more passionate about the culinary world.
In the following weeks, I’m going to be, in addition other things, exploring Ferran Adrià’s ambitious cuisine. I’m going to talk more about his rare techniques and try some of his dishes in my own kitchen! Stay tuned.
But, of course, to explore this kind of food, you need to experience it first-hand from the chef who first created it.
So this time around, I’ll explore it here in London. But maybe someday soon, who knows, I might get to experience it in Catalonia with Ferran Adrià at my side. Wouldn’t that be great!
