Spacelab dishes with an amazing look and great taste came alive at the El Bulli restaurant. Located in the town of Roses on the coast of Catalonia, two hours north of Barcelona, the El Bulli restaurant was considered the best in the world for close to a decade
Ferran Adrià is known to be one of the best chefs in the world. He was born in May 14, 1962, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (a suburb of Barcelona), Spain. Ferran´s first culinary steps begin in the position of a dishwasher in the French restaurant in the Hotel Playafels in Castelldefels, Spain. There he is being taught on traditional Spanish cuisine by the Chef de cuisine. At the age of 19 he is recruited by the military in order to work as a cook, and it´s only at the age of 22 where he is introduced to El Bulli, the restaurant through which he will gain the title of the best Chef in the World.
El Buli used to close for six months every year so that Ferran and his chefs could spend time off experimenting and developing new techniques. “The ideal customer doesn't come to El Bulli to eat, but to have an experience” said Ferran Adrià.
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Ferran Adrià, used his kitchen laboratory (situated at El Bulli) for truly spectacular creations like “bite-size cuttlefish ravioli that explode in a burst of coconut and ginger, soft-boiled quail egg with a crispy caramel crust, a polenta of frozen powdered Parmesan cheese, almond ice cream on a swirl of garlic oil and balsamic vinegar”. He is best known for his creations of “culinary foam” and “warm gelatin” used now by chefs around the world. Adrià has won the adulation of cooks and critics by his baffling and astonishing technical accomplishments and magnificent combinations of temperature, texture and taste.
Adria´s contribution to cooking science is implemented not only by the publication of several cookbooks as well as with the documentary about the restaurant´s creative process that occurred behind the scenes , named ´´El Bulli: Cooking in Progress´´.
As Ferran Adria has stated “I have not stopped working nor experimenting”. His younger brother Albert Adria has enhanced the culinary life of Barcelona by opening 6 restaurants under the concept of a gastronomic amusement park, and Ferran has been participating in this successful initiative that still let's the clients experience some of ElBulli’s greats.
Customers will still be able to sample this gastronomic excellence as several culinary masters of El Bulli have opened various restaurants located in Barcelona. A good example is Disfrutar in Barcelona, founded by Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas who all worked at El Bulli.