Kitchen Conundrum

Ferran Adria and Lisa Abend, A Talk and A Book Signing

by

The Sorcerer's ApprenticesYou have been hearing us talk about Molecular Gastronomy quite a bit lately. We recently entered a contest hosted by Simon and Schuster in the spirit of elBulli and Ferran Adria to coincide with the publication of The Sorcerer’s Apprentices, written by Lisa Abend (and of which I reviewed here last week). Well, we did not win that contest, but we were chosen as a runner up and could not be more thrilled since it was our first experience with Molecular Gastronomy, and we are in great company with a blogger we admire greatly, Salty Seattle. You can see all the entries, the results and the judges comments here.

Thursday evening I had the opportunity to hear Ferran Adria and Lisa Abend speak at the 92nd Street Y here in NYC. It was great!

Ferran discussed the transformation of elBulli, the three Michelin-starred restaurant named best in the world five times, into the elBulliFoundation, a culinary think tank that would take molecular gastronomy to even greater heights and then disseminate that knowledge daily via the internet around the world.

The land improvement plans alone for this new foundation are astounding. Ferran showed us a few videos of the project and how he plans to create a “completely sustainable architectural complex designed to produce zero emissions”, a beautiful series of bell-shaped glass structures will be created and sustained on solar powered enegry and will house the “brain storming” hall. It’s really quite stunning to see.

When it opens in 2014, 30 or so “culinary scholars” will be selected each year from across the globe to work with the master chef. “The vision is to focus on creativity and the motto for the project is: ‘Risk-taking, freedom and creativity’,” said Adria. “There will be no timetable, no routine, no rules.”

I have no doubt what comes forth from this endeavor will be nothing short of a masterpiece.

While most of the evening was spent discussing this incredible project and the new cookbook Ferran authored that is being released in October for the “home cook” (can’t wait for that one!), we did get to hear from Lisa Abend about her time spent at elBulli as a journalist writing about the lives of the stagiaires of the kitchen of elBulli for her new book, The Sorcerer’s Apprentices (a must read!) and about all the wonderful food she was able to try.

After the discussion, we were able to attend a book signing with each of them. I had lugged Ferran’s giant, weighty, but stunningly beautiful book, A Day at elBulli and Lisa’s book with me that day along with a little camera. I introduced myself to Lisa and being incredibly nice she turned to Ferran to introduce me as one of the people who reviewed her book and entered the contest. Then she took the time to personalize our book and then introduce me to one of the contest judges and former stagiaire, Katie Button. How nice is that???  Katie is in the process of opening a traditional Spanish tapas bar in Ashville, NC with her fiance called Cúrate. If you are ever in that area, please go and check it out as it should be amazing!

Here are a couple of pictures from the book signing.

Me and Ferran, then me and Lisa.

It was a fun evening and a once in a lifetime (hopefully not!) meeting!

The Sorcerer’s Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adrià’s elBulli, A Book Review

by

The Sorcerer's ApprenticesI just finished reading a review copy of The Sorcerer’s Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adrià’s elBulli written by Lisa Abend, who wrote this inside look after spending the 2009 season with free access to the kitchen and to the people who worked at, what we learn is, much more than just a restaurant.

As someone who has worked in restaurant kitchens, I really enjoyed seeing the inner workings of the kitchen at elBulli. However, it is completely different than any of the kitchens I’ve ever worked!  From the opening meeting to the final dinner and clean up of the restaurant, you get to see the methods that make elBulli what it is, and why is has been voted the best restaurant in the world 5 times. From what, in the beginning, seems to the new cooks as an inordinate amount of rules, to how over their 6 month stint they realize why they are all needed and are a crucial part of the restaurant’s success. Some of the cooks love every second of their time there and some can’t wait for their time to end.

For each season, thirty-five cooks are chosen to be stagiaires or apprentice chefs and put their lives and jobs on hold to come to work and learn from the master, Ferran Adrià for a period of six months. It is a great sacrifice in hopes of a golden ring. They often perform tedious and what seems to be mindless tasks that actually requires extraordinary focus and attention to detail in order to meet Adrià’s level of excellence. One example would be the artichoke rose which demanded the poaching of hundreds of rose petals each day which first had to plucked from their flowers and separated into individual petals, poached three times, blanched in ice water, passed through a pressure cooker before finally being arranged in perfect concentric circles on a plate. But, in the end, the artichoke rose tastes  like an artichoke and is one of Adrià’s cunning surprises.

Though there is only one recipe in the book, Abend really gives you a glimpse and an understanding of the thought process that goes into many of the dishes served at elBulli. Each diner receives, on average, thirty courses and each one is a gastronomic revelation.  But the system in place behind each dish is of equal marvel.

Not only are you privy to the inner workings of the most innovative kitchen in the world but you are also given a rare look into the lives and minds of these young cooks that come from every corner of the earth. This candid glance into their personal stories while they are there, as well as what brought them there and their plans after the season ends is what brings a human side to the food of elBulli.

There is the incredible story of Luke, a young Korean cook, who literally camps out on the doorsteps of elBulli until he is given the opportunity to be stagiarie. His dedication and perseverance were nearly unmatched and his work ethic commendable and fierce.

Abend’s book will astound you and make you feel as though you are actually an insider of the world’s greatest kitchen. You should definitely read this one! I can not recommend it enough.

About the Author: Lisa Abend is a journalist based in Madrid. For the past several years, she has been Time magazine’s correspondent in Spain. As a freelancer, she has written for The Atlantic, Wired, Ms.,The American Prospect, National Wildlife and for The Economist. She contributes to several major American food magazines, and has written features on a Marrakech cooking school (Bon Appetit); on culinary travels through Extremadura (Gourmet); on a collective of grandmothers in Catalonia who preserve traditional cuisine (Saveur); and on learning to love pig face (Food and Wine). Her food writing has also appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, and the Christian Science Monitor.  She hosts an episode on Andalusia in the third season of PBS’ Diary of a Foodie.

In a previous life she was a professor of Spanish history at Oberlin College. The Sorcerer’s Apprentices is her first book.

The book will be available on March 22, 2011. For more information, you can go here.

You can also like The Sorcerers Apprentices page on Facebook.

And, if you happen to be in NYC on 3/24/11, you can attend a Talk with Ferran Adrià & Lisa Abend with Adam Gopnik moderating at the 92nd Street Y.  Renee will be there taking copious notes!