Ferran Adrià has a new project. The celebrated chef, whom Spain has made a national icon, has taken Spanish restaurant elBulli to what is now accepted as the best restaurant in the world. Now he is closing his doors and preparing the next course. According to one of the 8,000 diners per year who defeat a million other people vying for reservations at elBulli, Adrià’s beyond-innovative cuisine extends their experience of what life can be. If I were speaking, I’d probably use the term ‘spiritual experience’, but I haven’t been fortunate enough to dine there. Thought I must say, just a visit to elBulli’s website is a mouthwatering, not to mention inspiring, experience. With the support of now 70 international chefs in his kitchen, Adrià has created 1,800 envelope-pushing recipes in his 25 years there. His joy is creation; his medium is food. His next step is to share that with the world. Adrià’s project is to turn elBulli the restaurant into elBulli the foundation. Adrià has always loved mixing cuisine with other disciplines, and his latest is telecommunications. With R&D from Spanish telephone company Telefónica, Adrià will create the world’s largest digital recipe exchange. Using technology to embed recipes in kitchen gadgets and even Andrià himself as an avatar, he will bring his cuisine to the people. Adrià hopes the elBullifoundation will “change the relationship between creativity and society,” giving people all around the world the chance to engage with him creatively from their own homes. He calls it “a social project to continue creating and to share everything by Internet.” As quoted in his interview with CNN Revealed, Adrià said, “The most important work is theoretical, to have ideas. The rest is trial and error.” Adrià recognizes that in order to keep your creative edge, you have to be free. You have to upset the status quo. Quite a courageous act as his stage of the game. Felicidad, Señor Adrià. We’ll be watching!
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