Ferran Adrià

One of the world’s greatest chefs Ferran Adrià talks about his life, his elBulli restaurant that was named the world’s best restaurant multiple times, and preserving the legacy of his groundbreaking cuisine.

Adria talks about the fundamental principles of Sapiens, the methodology used to develop his Bullipedia and the forthcoming volumes in the series. He will discuss the Bullipedia gastronomic encyclopaedia and the various projects and formats that comprise it.

Adrià left his business studies course in his native Barcelona as a young man to follow a path in professional cooking. He joined the elBulli restaurant in Roses and, within 18 months, he was appointed head chef.  Adrià is sometimes associated with ‘molecular gastronomy’ although he prefers to call it ‘deconstructed cuisine’, which involves taking a well-known dish and transforming all its ingredients so that it preserves its essence but is radically altered in appearance. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants named elBulli best restaurant in the world in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and Adrià chef of the decade in 2010.

‘It is very difficult to be innovative at the highest level in any discipline. For some chefs, it’s simply a matter of combining ingredients, but that’s something you can do with your eyes closed.’ Ferran Adrià

elBulli closed in 2011 and Adria and his business partner Juli Soler founded the elBullifoundation to safeguard the legacy of the restaurant and to share expertise in management, innovation and fine dining. Its work includes the 30-plus-volume Bullipedia fine dining encyclopaedia. Adrià has created with Harvard University a course on science and cuisine and helped to create the Alicia Foundation to promote good nutrition that connects gastronomy and culture with science and health. He is also author of more than 60 books and audiovisual content on elBulli’s work and set up elBullibooks publishing house.

Part of the festival’s programme of Spanish and Latin American literature and culture.