Jason King
AmyHuangEl Bulli - The Greatest Restaurant in the World
March 10th 2009 10:44
Ferran Adrià is considered by many to be the greatest chef in the world and his restaurant, El Bulli, to be the greatest restaurant in the world. Located in Roses, Spain, El Bulli is a holy mecca for food lovers. The 35-course taster's menu is a grand experience of tastes, textures, and wonder. An architect of molecular gastronomy, Adrià's creations are designed to surprise and enchant his guests.
If you go, plan on making reservations months or even years in advance. El Bulli serves only dinner, has less than 50 seats, and only makes one sitting. They are also closed from October to March. Of the approximately 2,000 bookings every year, they receive over 400,000 applications. Expect to pay about $150 per person, not including wine. Throw ontop of that a plane ticket to Spain, accomodation and alcohol and it's a costly night out.
A brief history of the greatest chef in the world.
Ferran Adrià is the master of advancement in a spectacular form of food science known as Molecular gastronomy. It is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking. It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view).
Ferran Adrià Acosta is a chef born on May 14, 1962 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain. He is the famed head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava. Today he is considered one of the best chefs in the world and tops the European Restaurant Ranking.
Ferran Adrià began his culinary career in 1980 during his stint as a dishwasher at the Hotel Playafels, in the town of Castelldefels (Catalonia). The chef de cuisine at this hotel taught him traditional Spanish cuisine. At 19 he was drafted into military service where he worked as a cook. In 1984, at the age of 22, Adrià joined the kitchen staff of El Bulli as a line cook. Eighteen months later he became the head chef.
Along with British chef Heston Blumenthal, Adrià is often associated with "molecular gastronomy," although the Catalan chef does not consider his cuisine to be of this category. Instead, he has referred to his cooking as deconstructivist. Adrià's stated goal is to "provide unexpected contrasts of flavour, temperature and texture. Nothing is what it seems. The idea is to provoke, surprise and delight the diner." This is also combined with a large dose of irony and a sense of humour, making his dishes highly épatants (impressive). As he likes to say, "the ideal customer doesn't come to El Bulli to eat but to have an experience."
El Bulli is only open from April to October. Adrià spends the remaining six months of the year perfecting recipes in his workshop "El Taller" in Barcelona. He is famous for his thirty course gourmet menu.
He is also well known for creating "culinary foam". In his quest to enhance flavour Adrià discards the use of cream and egg; foam is made exclusively of the main ingredient and "air" (combined in a whipped cream maker equipped with N2O cartridges). Adrià's foam creations include foamed espresso (Èspesso), foamed mushroom, and foamed beetroot.
El Bulli has 3 Michelin stars and is regarded as one of the best restaurants in the Western world. In 2005 it ranked second in the Restaurant Top 50. It was awarded the first place in 2006, displacing The Fat Duck in England. El Bulli has retained this title in 2007 and 2008.
Adrià is the author of several cookbooks including A Day at El Bulli, El Bulli 2003-2004 and Cocinar en Casa (Cooking at Home). With his young assistant Daniel Picard, Adrià has made almonds into cheese and asparagus into bread with the help of natural ingredients.
Rabbit with Hot Apple Jelly
Synthesis of elBulli cuisine. In the mid-1990s a new style of cuisine began to be forged. Today, this style has been wholly consolidated and may be defined in the following terms:
1. Cooking is a language through which all the following properties may be expressed: harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation and culture.
2. The use of top quality products and technical knowledge to prepare them properly are taken for granted.
3. All products have the same gastronomic value, regardless of their price.
4. Preference is given to vegetables and seafood, with a key role also being played by dairy products, nuts and other products that make up a light form of cooking. In recent years red meat and large cuts of poultry have been very sparingly used.
Chocolate & Eucalyptus with Pear Sorbet
5. Although the characteristics of the products may be modified (temperature, texture, shape, etc.), the aim is always to preserve the purity of their original flavour, except for processes that call for long cooking or seek the nuances of particular reactions such as the Maillard reaction.
6. Cooking techniques, both classic and modern, are a heritage that the cook has to know how to exploit to the maximum.
7. As has occurred in most fields of human evolution down the ages, new technologies are a resource for the progress of cooking.
8. The family of stocks is being extended. Together with the classic ones, lighter stocks performing an identical function are now being used (waters, broths, consommés, clarified vegetable juices, nut milk, etc.).
Crocant Gaudí - yes - this is a meal
9. The information given off by a dish is enjoyed through the senses; it is also enjoyed and interpreted by reflection.
10. Taste is not the only sense that can be stimulated: touch can also be played with (contrasts of temperatures and textures), as well as smell, sight (colours, shapes, trompe d’oeil, etc.), whereby the five senses become one of the main points of reference in the creative cooking process.
11. The technique-concept search is the apex of the creative pyramid.
12. Creation involves teamwork. In addition, research has become consolidated as a new feature of the culinary creative process.
Lollipop of White Chocolate & Lemon and Coffee Candy
13. The barriers between the sweet and savoury world are being broken down. Importance is being given to a new cold cuisine, particularly in the creation of the frozen savoury world.
14. The classical structure of dishes is being broken down: a veritable revolution is underway in first courses and desserts, closely bound up with the concept of symbiosis between the sweet and savoury world; in main dishes the "product-garnish-sauce" hierarchy is being broken down.
15. A new way of serving food is being promoted. The dishes are finished in the dining room by the serving staff. In other cases the diners themselves participate in this process.
16. Regional cuisine as a style is an expression of its own geographical and cultural context as well as its culinary traditions. Its bond with nature complements and enriches this relationship with its environment.
Rose of Beet with Mandarin & Almond Sherbet
17. Products and preparations from other countries are subjected to one's particular style of cooking.
18. There are two main paths towards attaining harmony of products and flavours: through memory (connection with regional cooking traditions, adaptation, deconstruction, former modern recipes), or through new combinations.
19. A culinary language is being created which is becoming more and more ordered, that on some occasions establishes a relationship with the world and language of art.
20. Recipes are designed to ensure that harmony is to be found in small servings.
Spherical Egg of White Asparagus with False Truffle
21. Decontextualisation, irony, spectacle, performance are completely legitimate, as long as they are not superficial but respond to, or are closely bound up with, a process of gastronomic reflection.
22. The menu de dégustation is the finest expression of avant-garde cooking. The structure is alive and subject to changes. Concepts such as snacks, tapas, pre-desserts, morphs, etc., are coming into their own.
23. Knowledge and/or collaboration with experts from different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, etc.,) is essential for progress in cooking. In particular collaboration with the food industry and the scientific world has brought about fundamental advances. Sharing this knowledge among cooking professionals has contributed to this evolution.
Frozen Air of Parmesano with Muesli
This video is sensational and well worth the look at the restaurant!
This restaurant has just made my MUST DO list prior to leaving this planet. It should be noted that El Bulli has NEVER turned over a profit but its books and other ventures have. This is a gift from the culinary gods that Ferran Adrià continues to offer these delectable delights to the world.
If you go, plan on making reservations months or even years in advance. El Bulli serves only dinner, has less than 50 seats, and only makes one sitting. They are also closed from October to March. Of the approximately 2,000 bookings every year, they receive over 400,000 applications. Expect to pay about $150 per person, not including wine. Throw ontop of that a plane ticket to Spain, accomodation and alcohol and it's a costly night out.
A brief history of the greatest chef in the world.
Ferran Adrià is the master of advancement in a spectacular form of food science known as Molecular gastronomy. It is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking. It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view).
Ferran Adrià Acosta is a chef born on May 14, 1962 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain. He is the famed head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava. Today he is considered one of the best chefs in the world and tops the European Restaurant Ranking.
Ferran Adrià began his culinary career in 1980 during his stint as a dishwasher at the Hotel Playafels, in the town of Castelldefels (Catalonia). The chef de cuisine at this hotel taught him traditional Spanish cuisine. At 19 he was drafted into military service where he worked as a cook. In 1984, at the age of 22, Adrià joined the kitchen staff of El Bulli as a line cook. Eighteen months later he became the head chef.
Along with British chef Heston Blumenthal, Adrià is often associated with "molecular gastronomy," although the Catalan chef does not consider his cuisine to be of this category. Instead, he has referred to his cooking as deconstructivist. Adrià's stated goal is to "provide unexpected contrasts of flavour, temperature and texture. Nothing is what it seems. The idea is to provoke, surprise and delight the diner." This is also combined with a large dose of irony and a sense of humour, making his dishes highly épatants (impressive). As he likes to say, "the ideal customer doesn't come to El Bulli to eat but to have an experience."
El Bulli is only open from April to October. Adrià spends the remaining six months of the year perfecting recipes in his workshop "El Taller" in Barcelona. He is famous for his thirty course gourmet menu.
He is also well known for creating "culinary foam". In his quest to enhance flavour Adrià discards the use of cream and egg; foam is made exclusively of the main ingredient and "air" (combined in a whipped cream maker equipped with N2O cartridges). Adrià's foam creations include foamed espresso (Èspesso), foamed mushroom, and foamed beetroot.
El Bulli has 3 Michelin stars and is regarded as one of the best restaurants in the Western world. In 2005 it ranked second in the Restaurant Top 50. It was awarded the first place in 2006, displacing The Fat Duck in England. El Bulli has retained this title in 2007 and 2008.
Adrià is the author of several cookbooks including A Day at El Bulli, El Bulli 2003-2004 and Cocinar en Casa (Cooking at Home). With his young assistant Daniel Picard, Adrià has made almonds into cheese and asparagus into bread with the help of natural ingredients.
Synthesis of elBulli cuisine. In the mid-1990s a new style of cuisine began to be forged. Today, this style has been wholly consolidated and may be defined in the following terms:
1. Cooking is a language through which all the following properties may be expressed: harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation and culture.
2. The use of top quality products and technical knowledge to prepare them properly are taken for granted.
3. All products have the same gastronomic value, regardless of their price.
4. Preference is given to vegetables and seafood, with a key role also being played by dairy products, nuts and other products that make up a light form of cooking. In recent years red meat and large cuts of poultry have been very sparingly used.
5. Although the characteristics of the products may be modified (temperature, texture, shape, etc.), the aim is always to preserve the purity of their original flavour, except for processes that call for long cooking or seek the nuances of particular reactions such as the Maillard reaction.
6. Cooking techniques, both classic and modern, are a heritage that the cook has to know how to exploit to the maximum.
7. As has occurred in most fields of human evolution down the ages, new technologies are a resource for the progress of cooking.
8. The family of stocks is being extended. Together with the classic ones, lighter stocks performing an identical function are now being used (waters, broths, consommés, clarified vegetable juices, nut milk, etc.).
9. The information given off by a dish is enjoyed through the senses; it is also enjoyed and interpreted by reflection.
10. Taste is not the only sense that can be stimulated: touch can also be played with (contrasts of temperatures and textures), as well as smell, sight (colours, shapes, trompe d’oeil, etc.), whereby the five senses become one of the main points of reference in the creative cooking process.
11. The technique-concept search is the apex of the creative pyramid.
12. Creation involves teamwork. In addition, research has become consolidated as a new feature of the culinary creative process.
13. The barriers between the sweet and savoury world are being broken down. Importance is being given to a new cold cuisine, particularly in the creation of the frozen savoury world.
14. The classical structure of dishes is being broken down: a veritable revolution is underway in first courses and desserts, closely bound up with the concept of symbiosis between the sweet and savoury world; in main dishes the "product-garnish-sauce" hierarchy is being broken down.
15. A new way of serving food is being promoted. The dishes are finished in the dining room by the serving staff. In other cases the diners themselves participate in this process.
16. Regional cuisine as a style is an expression of its own geographical and cultural context as well as its culinary traditions. Its bond with nature complements and enriches this relationship with its environment.
17. Products and preparations from other countries are subjected to one's particular style of cooking.
18. There are two main paths towards attaining harmony of products and flavours: through memory (connection with regional cooking traditions, adaptation, deconstruction, former modern recipes), or through new combinations.
19. A culinary language is being created which is becoming more and more ordered, that on some occasions establishes a relationship with the world and language of art.
20. Recipes are designed to ensure that harmony is to be found in small servings.
21. Decontextualisation, irony, spectacle, performance are completely legitimate, as long as they are not superficial but respond to, or are closely bound up with, a process of gastronomic reflection.
22. The menu de dégustation is the finest expression of avant-garde cooking. The structure is alive and subject to changes. Concepts such as snacks, tapas, pre-desserts, morphs, etc., are coming into their own.
23. Knowledge and/or collaboration with experts from different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, etc.,) is essential for progress in cooking. In particular collaboration with the food industry and the scientific world has brought about fundamental advances. Sharing this knowledge among cooking professionals has contributed to this evolution.
This video is sensational and well worth the look at the restaurant!
This restaurant has just made my MUST DO list prior to leaving this planet. It should be noted that El Bulli has NEVER turned over a profit but its books and other ventures have. This is a gift from the culinary gods that Ferran Adrià continues to offer these delectable delights to the world.
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by K @ the Lair
Comment by Helen Randell
Rough Cooking
What is the first one? From a distance it looks a bit like beetroot dip but it seems to be drier than that.
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Helen - I have no idea - it was driving me nuts last night - it is the only meal listed without an explanation besides the title of "spiral". I did find this on someone's site - maybe this is it?
At El Bulli, north of Barcelona, Spain, pastry chef Albert Adria has fallen for the seeds. He has fashioned a spiral swirl of black sesame crunch, dehydrated raspberries and lime gelatin, with a quenelle of coconut ice cream.
Comment by Nomad
Awesome Food
how many people should i murder to get my name on the list?
cos i've got a knife!!
a big knife...
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Nomad
Awesome Food