Review: This book was amazing. The author very successfully compared
the motivations, history, recipes, tradition, and end results of elBulli with
the classic French restaurant. She managed to present the positives and
negatives of both viewpoints without interjecting her own opinion or a bias of
any kind. As a result, the book ends up presenting a history of restaurants,
cooking, and the way we view chefs in general and offers insight into the
future. The author even manages to compare Adria's techniques to other restaurants
with the same motivation. The differences abound as the motivation may be similar
but the end result can span from whimsical to serious.
The author highlights the lives, motivations and
inspirations of several individuals doing a stage at elBulli. Intended or not,
these spotlights offer insight into the mind of Adria himself.
My thoughts: This book was an amazing summer read and got my mind going
in several different directions.
- For instance, the insane, methodical, and intense focus on
the details of mise en place reminded me of descriptions of traditional Buddhist
meal times. The same focus on food is evident in both groups.
- The nature of elBulli, with it's ever-changing menu, means
that there is no such thing as returning to elBulli to partake in a favorite
meal. This speaks to Adria's motivation behind cooking - to "Never
copy". The ever changing menu, and the speed which it changes, speaks
to the fast-paced nature of modern society. Individuals are on a constant
search for something new - the next great thing. This aspect of society sickens
me but somehow I accept it in the food I eat. I have a tendency to try a
technique, a recipe, a restaurant once and never return. I want that new
flavor. Adria wants the customer to be excited and enthralled by his food - and
I am sure he is successful. I feel the need to question the way in which he
achieves that excitement and enthrallment. Classic, home cooking can achieve
that as well. Something which Adria acknowledges as the author presents him
watching a stage member cook a traditional fondue. He seems just as enthralled
by this classic dish as the customers in his dining room are by his way of
cooking. I wonder what applications the knowledge and awareness created by
Adria will have for more traditional kitchens.
- The role of culinary school and academics more generally
is also raised. Adria claims that they are going to "explain
creativity" (19) to the chefs that stage at elBulli. Cooking is one of the
few professions that still allows for discipleship in which one learns to cook from
watching an expert do it. The role of culinary schools in modern society is lacking as it teaches the bare minimum of technique and does not focus on allowing the student to add to the discipline as more traditional academics aims to do.
- The role of customer appears secondary at elBulli. Adria
states "What they like comes second. Creativity comes first.... We don't
ask if a dish is 'good' or 'bad'. Here there's no such question. Our question
is: Does it make your hair stand up on end? Is it magic?" (131)
-The discussion of creativity in the book was very
intriguing. Which are perhaps best described in the author's own words...
"There's no secret to it, it takes hours and hours. If you
don’t have time, you can't create." (152)
"... draw up a list of all the uses of corn in their
country, which he then organizes into a culinary flowchart of sorts, with
ground corn leading to tortillas and tortillas leading to enchiladas and
tamales." (156)
"By deconstructing the soup so that its components were
discrete entities exposed on the plate, he initiated a process of inquiry -
What are our expectations of food? - that continues to inform what he does in
the kitchen. (175)
"For that kind of reinvention to happen, creativity
can't wait for something so fleeting as inspiration; it has to be codified. And
indeed, one of elBulli's ironies is that the more widely Ferran is defined as
an artist, the more businesslike his approach to creativity has become."
(141)
