This is Ferran Adria. Half of the equation that is El Bulli. Well, was El Bulli. It seems like Ferran came to Fusion to settle an old score. Some time ago, when he announced the closing of El Bulli, he sent shock waves through the international foodie's community. Why? they all cried out (especially in Spain) How could he? was he mad? er...........mad-er? Well no, and yes. But to me, thanks to his 1.5 hour presentation, it all makes sense now. Perfect sense.
In his presentation, Ferran wound back the clock to the early days of El Bulli, before the hype, before the hysteria, before it all. El Bulli has been pushing the boundaries ever since it first opened its doors in the late 80's. He might not have realised it at the time, but Ferran has been chasing a dream. The first casualty of this dream was when El Bulli closed for lunches - big news in its day. Then they decided to close for 6 months - unheard of. Then, and this was really drastic, they did away with the menu. This was really a spanner in the works at the time, although it now seems common place. At every step of the way people were shocked, they couldn't understand Ferran's motives, because they couldn't share his vision. You see, Ferran's dream is freedom. Like a culinary 'Braveheart' - "FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOM!"
And finally, not two years ago, it finally occurred to Ferran what the final hurdle was. What is the greatest constraint on a Chef, the greatest constriction, the most problematic of all considerations. Not money (Ferran has loads), not critical acclaim (ditto) not produce, equipment, weather, solar wind, termites, or stray dogs. Yes, thats it, now you've got it - The Big 'C' Word.
The CUSTOMER (cue sinister laughter)
Yep, we - you - I - they are the problem.
So being Ferran, he did what he has done in the past - CHOP!
But, Ferran doesn't lay waste to things unnecessarily - he always has a direction, a plan, and oh boy - this one's a biggie!
It seems the complete message didn't make it through the 'chinese whispers' of the culinary world. Yes El Bulli is closing. Closing so it can transform. Into what? The El Bulli Foundation.
Yep, tired of watching over the world from the summit of his gastronomic Mt Everest, Ferran now dreams to build a base camp, so future chefs can launch into greater spheres of culinary genius. And its now much more than a dream. The building in the picture is effectively an organism, it absorbs CO2, transforms it into oxygen, and has nitrogen producing material incorporated into its construction. It is not only designed to have absolute zero carbon footprint - it is designed to interact with the natural world around it. To interact with the trees, and the shrubs. This, right at this moment, is the most advanced development of its kind, it is simply breathtaking. This building is only one of many, and what goes on inside them is another whole kettle of soup de poisson.
Ferran was pretty fired up, I think he was pretty upset. I get the feeling that he has spent the last year or so trying to convince people that El Bulli is not simple closing. Done. Sadly, I think even now people don't quite understand where he is coming from, but his closing sentiment seemed to be that when your lucky, as lucky as he is, there comes a time when you feel you have to give back. So there. Turns out part of that giving back includes a personal cooking class, himself and Albert, to a certain delgation of international chefs in three weeks. Lucky devils, I wonder who they are?
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