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El Bulli
El Bulli 2003-2004
Ferran Adria is widely considered to be the most innovative, most influential, and indeed the greatest chef in the world today. Culinary giants like Thomas Keller venerate him. El Bulli, the restaurant where he creates his masterpieces, has become a pilgrimage site of sorts; food connoisseurs from around the world journey down a dizzying coastal road to Roses, Spain to experience his unconventional tasting menu -- often consisting of 25 or more courses. But if you want a reservation, get in line.
656 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Ferran Adrià
94 books38 followersOne of the world's top chefs, Ferran Adrià Acosta (born May 14, 1962) headed the restaurant elBulli, joining the staff in 1984 and rapidly progressing to become head chef. Famous for his pioneering culinary techniques, he has been applauded—and imitated—around the world, and won three Michelin stars for elBulli, along with many other accolades. Since elBulli's closure in 2011, Ferran has been lecturing around the world and developing the elBullifoundation, a culinary academy and think tank, on the site of the former restaurant.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 5, 2009
This is a review of just the 2004 volume, including the "Evolutionary Analysis 2004." What is it? Well, the primary author, Ferran Adria, is considered one of the best, most creative chefs in the world. "El Bulli" is his $400 per 32-course tasting-menu restaurant in spain.
But this is not a cookbook. Rather, it might be called the documentation of experimental culinary research conducted at El Bulli by Adria and his dozens of subsidiary and in-training chefs over the course of the previous year. As one of the parent figures in molecular gastronomy, Adria has had photographed all the new dishes created that year, including the the techniques, products (including a wide variety of new ones), and tools used in the process of creating wonderful new dishes as well as the ones that failed. By the way, "products" can include both natural ones as well as commercial ones.
Why would one want to read this?
1. If you are a serious chef, it is almost mandatory.
2. This will expand your consciousness of what food is, what it can be, and what it can be made from.
3. The joy of seeing research and creativity applied to gustatory art.
But this is not a cookbook. Rather, it might be called the documentation of experimental culinary research conducted at El Bulli by Adria and his dozens of subsidiary and in-training chefs over the course of the previous year. As one of the parent figures in molecular gastronomy, Adria has had photographed all the new dishes created that year, including the the techniques, products (including a wide variety of new ones), and tools used in the process of creating wonderful new dishes as well as the ones that failed. By the way, "products" can include both natural ones as well as commercial ones.
Why would one want to read this?
1. If you are a serious chef, it is almost mandatory.
2. This will expand your consciousness of what food is, what it can be, and what it can be made from.
3. The joy of seeing research and creativity applied to gustatory art.
June 3, 2015
This volume covers the years when Adria and his team really began to earn the (despised) "molecular gastronomy" title. Spherification, alternative gelling agents and liquid nitrogen all appear for the first time.
A dozen years later virtually all the recipes are easily accessible since all of the "molecular" ingredients are now readily available. By urban North American standards even the then exotic ingredients are pretty common place. An ambitious home cook can, with a great deal of planning, come pretty close to reproducing a full (if dated) el Bulli meal.
This volume is among the more reasonably priced of these now out of print editions but be aware that as with all the "black box" catalogs, the recipes are on CD in the form of an (obviously) old Flash application. If you have a Windows PC you'll be OK but the Macintosh version requires either Windows emulation software or OS X10.6 or earlier with Rosetta installed.
A dozen years later virtually all the recipes are easily accessible since all of the "molecular" ingredients are now readily available. By urban North American standards even the then exotic ingredients are pretty common place. An ambitious home cook can, with a great deal of planning, come pretty close to reproducing a full (if dated) el Bulli meal.
This volume is among the more reasonably priced of these now out of print editions but be aware that as with all the "black box" catalogs, the recipes are on CD in the form of an (obviously) old Flash application. If you have a Windows PC you'll be OK but the Macintosh version requires either Windows emulation software or OS X10.6 or earlier with Rosetta installed.
January 16, 2014
I don't own this book but dream about owning it. I've spent many afternoons overtaking my friends' living rooms (chefs who own a copy) in order to stare at the photography. What I would give to have nightmares that look like this food. That would be amazing.
March 13, 2012
A must have for the serious chef.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews