3 moments that changed the course of gastronomic history
Ferran Adrià is a one-man Spanish Inquisition. He speaks almost exclusively in questions. I met him recently at the El Bulli Foundation in Barcelona - part library, part studio, part think-tank. Practically the first words out of his mouth were 'How do you understand a tomato?'
He was funny and earnest, with an intense, wide-eyed stare. He looked like he could be Robert Downey Jr's long-lost Catalan uncle. Rather endearingly, he wore a photo-ID badge pinned to a saggy black T-shirt, even though he was in his own office and is, with the possible exception of certain football players and bullfighters, the most recognisable man in the city, if not all of Spain.
That evening I attended a dinner hosted by Dom Pérignon's chef de cave, Richard Geoffroy, with whom Adrià is involved in a somewhat mysterious three-year project to 'decode' the Champagne. The menu comprised 29 'snacks' - no cutlery required - that Adrià had created to accompany Dom Pérignon's newly released 2005 vintage. It was the first time he had cooked publicly since he closed El Bulli four years ago. Among the 29 snacks were 'mimetic peanuts', 'goose barnacles' and deep-fried rabbit ears.
Adrià spoke of creativity, innovation and education. He outlined the purpose of the Foundation, the nature of the collaboration with Dom Pérignon and his plans for El Bulli 1846, which is currently being built on the site of the original El Bulli restaurant and which he hopes will become a hotbed of foodie innovation. He has a knack of coining phrases, even if their meaning isn't always clear. He referred to El Bulli as a 'disruptive moment' in the history of gastronomy. I liked the sound of that. What, I asked, were the other most disruptive moments?
'Auguste Escoffier!' he exclaimed, invoking the father of modern French cooking and author of the encyclopedic Guide Culinaire. 'Why did he choose the recipes he did?' Adrià wondered out loud, with a baffled expression, almost as if he were talking to himself. He seemed haunted by Escoffier. References to his great predecessor peppered his conversation. Adrià has often been quoted as saying that he closed El Bulli after he had invented 1,864 dishes; 1864 was also the year of Escoffier's birth.
The next big disruption, he continued, was nouvelle cuisine. 'But that had more to do with production and space… and… and…'
He paused for a moment before identifying a third disruptive moment. The answer came in the form of another question. 'Which was the first high-end restaurant to dispense with tablecloths? Nobu! Yes, Nobu! Where else? Nowhere else! Let's analyse this! Why… why is the food in Peru and Mexico so exciting right now? Because they both have such a strong culture. The Incas, the Mayans, the Aztecs. And if you make the ancient contemporary, the effect is disruptive!'
Where, in that case, did he think the next disruptive moment would occur?
'At El Bulli 1846! You might get some ham, some tomato, some bread - but you, you will be the cook. Yes, you! You will be eating and you will be cooking. At the same time! And what will you do?'
Do? Me? Dios mìo. I wouldn't have a clue. But a ham and tomato sandwich and a drop of Dom Pérignon would be lovely, thanks. Hold the deep-fried rabbit ears.
One of the 29 snacks that Ferran Adrià created for Dom Pérignon will be available at Spring, Skye Gyngell's restaurant at Somerset House in London, from September this year, paired with the 2005 vintage. For more information, visit uk.domperignon.com
Come again?
Five fabulous Ferran Adrià quotes
\1. 'What type of information do we need from ravioli for it to become knowledge?'
\2. 'When a chef opens an oyster, is he cooking?'
\3. 'What is soup?'
\4. 'Who says you can't mix sardines and white chocolate?'
\5. 'If you don't understand a tomato, you had better not cook at all.'