Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cutting-Edge Kitchens
119
El Bulli
We're Off to See the Wizard
Roses, Spain
In 1964, it was a casual Costa Brava beach
bar run by a German doctor and his wife,
named after their pet bulldogs. By 1997, it
was one of the few non-French restau-
rants in the world to earn three Michelin
stars. In 2002 it was anointed the best
restaurant in the world by Restaurant
magazine, an honor repeated in 2006,
2007, and 2008.
What happened in the intervening years
was a mop-haired Catalonian named Fer-
ran Adrià, who showed up in 1983 to cook
during his month's leave from military
service and never really left. Adrià—who
became chef de cuisine in 1987 and co-
owner in 1990—didn't exactly spring up
out of nowhere, of course. El Bulli had one
Michelin star already before he arrived, for
the German owners were serious gastro-
nomes. During their annual 2-month win-
ter closure (back then there wasn't enough
low-season business to justify staying
open), Dr. Schilling urged his young chefs
to do stages in the best restaurants;
Adrià's mentors included Joël Robuchon,
Michel Bras, and Pierre Gagnaire.
But what elevated El Bulli to the culinary
stratosphere was Ferran Adrià's restless
curiosity and eagerness to experiment,
not only with new ingredients but with
new technologies. It's often referred to as
“that place that does the foam,” but
Adrià's innovations include much more
than just transforming food into beads and
foams and powders and nectars. The win-
ter closure (now 6 months long) gives
Adrià and his “development team” time to
retreat to a special workshop in Barcelona
where they experiment with new tastes
and textures and shapes, as well as a
chance to visit other great restaurants, a
luxury few working chefs get. It also gives
Adrià freedom to write cookbooks and
schmooze with celebrities during the off-
season, so when you eat at El Bulli, the star
chef himself will actually be in atten-
dance.
El Bulli fields over half a million requests
a year for reservations, but only some
8,000 lucky diners snag a table. E-mail the
restaurant in October (don't telephone) to
request a specific date and number of din-
ers for the coming season, and then be
patient—you may have to wait weeks for a
reply, whether positive or negative. As
you can imagine, there are few last-minute
cancellations. Open April through early
October, El Bulli only serves one meal a
day, usually dinner (in spring there are Sun
lunches instead), and they're typically
closed Monday and Tuesday. Check the
website for specifics. Tip: If you can't get a
table, head instead for Seville, where El
Bulli's “greatest hits” are served in the
hotel restaurant at Adrià's Hacienda
Benazuza (Calle Virgen de las Nieves s/n,
Sanlúcar la Mayor; & 34/95/570-3344;
www.elbullihotel.com).
For a restaurant this celebrated, El Bul-
li's wood-beamed, rustic-looking dining
room is surprisingly casual and relaxed; of
course, every diner there seems com-
pletely focused on the food. Each season's
menu is different, and shifts daily accord-
ing to what produce is at its peak. Your
best bet is the 30-course tasting menu, a
succession of culinary surprises served
on eccentric plates and utensils, their
crumpled and scooped-out contours
designed specifically for each recipe. You'll
begin your meal on the terrace with a
number of intriguing amuse-bouches, then
move to your table, where attentive wait-
ers instruct you on how to eat each tiny
course—whether to sip it, nibble it, lick it,
bite into a gushing center for an explosion
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