When star chef Ferran Adria announced he was to close the doors of Catalonian restaurant elBulli - famed for its its radically inventive fare and impossible-to-get tables - in 2010, he prompted a wave of mourning among the gastronomic cognoscenti.
With dishes such as parmesan marshmallows and melon caviar gracing the 30 course menu, the three Michelin star eatery was repeatedly voted the best in the world, so it was with anticipation that we waited to hear what the culinary wizard had next up his sleeve.
At a recent dinner, hosted by Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica, for whom he is brand ambassador, Adria unveiled his plans for a new gastronomic laboratory, which has been slowly simmering under the radar for some time. ‘We’re not closing, we’re transforming,’ explained the chef. He told us that he did contemplate selling the restaurant, but felt it wasn’t what it deserved and that he wanted the legacy to continue in some way.
Due to open in 2014, the elBullifoundation is the next stage in expanding the ideas that Adria and his team have been developing over the past 25 years. Due to employ a team of up to 30 (15 of them already existing), the new building is swiftly taking shape on the site of the original restaurant, which is tucked away on the Catalan coast in ‘El Parc Natural de Cap de Creus’, one of the largest natural reserves in Catalonia. Designed by Barcelona-based architect, Enric Ruiz Geli of Cloud9, and incorporating a material palette featuring the local mountain rock, it will be an unimposing structure that integrates with the landscape.
Completely self-sufficient, the eco-friendly complex will comprise four main departments, linked and surrounded by a resourceful and considered garden. The ‘Brainstorming’ room and the ‘Ideario’ will be the core of the creative centre and the first point of call for team members who will meet every day to conceptualise and then generate their ideas. This information will then be uploaded for public access in the ‘Worksharing’ space, while a new warehouse will house the considerable collection of awards and ever-growing elBulli paraphernalia.
The last stop for elBulli is a permanent installation, which is anticipated to be in the restaurant’s hometown of Roses. The venue is still to be decided, but the museum will house an historical archive of the establishment ever since its conception by Hans and Marketta Schilling on a once forlorn beach in the beginning of the 1960s.
Something of a national treasure in Spain, Ferran Adria has recently been venerated in a lustrous art magazine called ‘Matador’. Highlighting the history of elBulli along with Adria’s myriad creative achievements and his future plans that include the foundation, the magazine is a graphically executed publication that gives us a refined insight into the workings of the restaurant that was once the most famous in the world.
The new building, designed by Enric Ruiz Geli of Cloud9 and inspired by the rocky natural surroundings, is swiftly taking shape on the site of the original restaurant, which is tucked away on the Catalan coast in ‘El Parc Natural de Cap de Creus’, one of the largest natural reserves in Catalonia
Completely self-sufficient, the eco-friendly complex will comprise four main departments, linked and surrounded by a resourceful and considered garden
The ‘Brainstorming’ room and the ‘Ideario’ will be the core of the creative centre and the first point of call for team members who will meet every day to conceptualise and then generate their ideas
This information will then be uploaded for public access in the ‘Worksharing’ space, while a new warehouse will house the considerable collection of awards and ever-growing elBulli paraphernalia
The 'Brainstorming room'
The 'Ideario', where team members will put their ideas into practice
The 'Ideario', where team members will put their ideas into practice
Ferran Adria has recently been venerated in a lustrous art magazine called ‘Matador’, highlighting the history of elBulli along with Adria’s myriad creative achievements. The magazine is a graphically executed publication that gives us a refined insight into the workings of the restaurant
A spread featuring detailed plans on the elBullifoundation
A spread from the chapter on the execution of el Bulli's food. The image (right) features pieces of clay that emulate different products. These forms are used to decide the position and dimensions of the ingredients
Left: the clay version of 'Las Semillas' (the seeds), a dish that was designed in 2006. Right: the real version of the dish, which comprises seeds and various sprout products
This spread from the chapter titled 'Evolutionary Map', is Adria's method to creativity, a test he believes can be applied to any activity
From left: French marigold capsules and Galician alegae, by artist and filmmaker Hannah Collins, who followed the chef's ingredients for one year
The elBulli workshop located in a small XVIII century palace in the Calle de al POrtaferrissa in Barcelona
A spread taken from the chapter on design, featuring a variety of spoons used in the restaurant
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Last chance to see: the shape-shifting furniture of Enric MirallesFundació Enric Miralles with support from the American Hardwood Export Council pays tribute to the late Catalan architect’s furniture work, with an exhibition demonstrating his dynamic approach to design (until 29 August 2021)
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The Roca Brothers' new restaurant celebrates ‘ordinary’The Roca Brothers latest dining concept – Girona's Restaurant Normal – is designed by Catalan designer Andreu Carulla in collaboration with local artisans
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An apartment inside a modernist marvel by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona gets reimagined -
Spanish design store gets light-flooded interior makeover by local firm Zooco -
Eclectic shopping: Batavia celebrates 20 years with new Madrid flagship store -
Port Adriano marina by Philippe Starck, Mallorca
