A day at elBulli
An insight into the ideas, methods and creativity of Ferran Adrià
Ferran Adrià — Juli Soler — Albert Adrià
Published by Phaidon Press Ltd 2008, www.phaidon.com — H/B $75 AUD

Our other elBulli book 2005 (not that we are complaining) cost almost $200. Published by elBulli it is a glorious publication in every respect but one, they list ingredients but not actual recipes. The images are utterly titillating culinary pornography. It didn’t spoil our appreciation of the food at elBulli, the art on the plate but the food remained mysterious, daunting and challenging. This book, A day at elBulli opens the restaurant, the philosophy and some recipes to a group of people who may never be lucky enough to eat in their restaurant or work in their kitchen. The tiny $75 price tag will mean this book will fly off of the shelves, so if you want a copy and not have to wait for the second print run you had better buy one this week, this very day! Most importantly the small price tag puts the book within the reach of the lowliest apprentice with a dream of being famous, being as good, as innovative as Ferran Adrià.
An intimate look into the day of what has become the world’s most famous restaurant ever. Part of this fame can be attributed to the Internet, but it would be grossly unfair to attribute the global fascination just to that. Chefs may never want to serve a foam, deconstruct and olive to return it to a wobbly glistening sphere that disintegrates in the mouth with a burst of green olive, but……! Amuse bouche, mate we’re going to put them in the very best gin we can find with a breath, a vapour of vermouth over the top and give the martini a whole new meaning.
The pressure of both 2008 Best Restaurant in the World and Ferran Adrià Best Chef in the World, might have weighed heavily on other establishments, but the Adrià’s and Juli Soler seem to cope with the celebrity and flourish, never for a second pausing from their consummate professionalism.
This is a breathtaking book with stunning images by Maribel Ruiz de Erenchun who has captured the intimacy of the effort that becomes a cohesive dining and drinking experience. We love the electronic wine list – search Gaja, search your favourite wine and then be utterly overwhelmed with the choice. Purists will lament they cannot paw the pages, but it would take all night to properly check out the wine list – electronic makes it easy. Forget price, if you have made it through the doors of ElBulli from Australia, at any rate, you’ve already spent at least two grand to get there and surely aren’t planning to scrimp on the experience. Apart from which at around €300 (about $840 AUD) it is unlikely to be the most expensive dining experience of a food obsessed person — if you are lucky enough to get a table that is!
As chefs we can relate to much of the text. There is a poignancy when at 1.15 am ’round up of the day’ p502 “When the other chefs have left, the head chefs and managers discuss everything that has happened, organize tasks for the next day, help to compile the shopping lists and discus the menu for the following evening. This is all done in a more or less relaxed atmosphere depending on how the day has gone.” Only a chef possessed with their craft will appreciate this. It doesn’t matter how good you are, how hard you try, how much you know, we all relate to Vatel who killed himself for getting it wrong just once. For some bizarre reason those tiny percentage of bad nights are haunting black holes.
We love the recipes; nothing after 2005 (we have noted) but we’ve already made several with varying degrees of success. For example we’ve turn 3kg of mozzarella into precisely 3 x 10g (30g) perfect mozzarella sférica p300. Degree of difficulty about a zillion, but we know practice makes perfect. We’ve also made crap examples of Pumpkin oil sweet p294 but it’s not our idea of dessert. Cheeky, no, we love Ferran Adrià, his team and the concept and celebrate the fame of this restaurant and the people who are its life’s blood. Without this heart that pulses with a team of possessed people a great restaurant never exists!

All images Maribel Ruiz de Erenchun and published Icourtesy Phaidon Press Ltd.

Make a reservation for ElBulli

Purchasing components to have a try of the recipes in the book in South Australia — Isomalt modeling sugar and metil — (thanks Ayhan Erkoc, head chef at the Manse Restaurant and Bar for sharing information) Sandy’s Fine Foods, 36 Sydenham Road, Norwood SA 5067 — t 8132 0515 (Get a 5kg bucket Isomalt much cheaper — metil is expensive but at a couple of grams a time the 300g pack should last a while.)
For the other chemicals alginates etc — Ace Chemical Company for food grade chemicals – 119a Mooringe Ave Camden Park 5038 — t (08) 8376 0844 — e acechem@senet.com.au — w
www.acechem.com.au You need a gram scale that will start weighing at 1g make sure to check before you buy because many scales start to weigh at 5g which is useless. DJ’s have a Tanita brand scale which was about $100, commercial versions start at around $300 and head rapidly up.