I was recently in Singapore for Asia's largest Food & Hospitality trade show as well as the Gourmet Summit. Flying in I read the Straits Times and happened to see that Ferran Adria of El Bulli restaurant was coming to Singapore for 2 events.
Chef Adria is a pioneer in molecular gastronomy, the ultimate nouvelle cuisine of our day. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferran_Adria
Other than the fact that I sell professional quality cream whippers (a vital tool in molecular gastronomy), and that I'm a big foodie; I saw this as an extremely serendipitous turn of events. The man who can make espuma or edible foam out of meat with the equipment I sell is someone I had to meet or at least see in person.
To say Chef Adria's culinary innovations have influenced the world of cooking is as understated as saying the slam dunk influenced the modern era of the game of basketball. His "kitchen moves" have reverberated through every important kitchen on earth, much as Bob Kurland's first dunk shocked, awed, infuriated, confused, and most of all impressed the basketball world. To indulge in one more basketball comparison, Chef Adria is to the gastronomic world as Phil Jackson is to the NBA. Not similar because both have received awards, prizes and accolades but that he like Jackson has brought tangible, important yet "weird" innovations to his profession with tremendously successful results.
Many attempt to crown him "the greatest chef in the world". Chef Adria bristles at this title saying only that there is no such thing. He says that there are only great chefs who make great meals. Hear him, hear him! His humility belies his genius.
In the presentation, Chef Adria spoke of cooking as it's own language. Different styles of cooking are a different language. Like many languages, cooking can fuse, adapt, borrow, and even copy. He posited that he had simply invented his own new language in his cooking. He also stressed the importance of understanding the alphabet of cooking, that which is understanding the ingredients; and how scientific factors like temperature, pressure, and viscosity affect the physical properties and ultimately the taste of said ingredients. This is real science. The rest of the presentation focused on the history, current state, and future of the El Bulli restaurant. To even begin to understand his cooking I highly recommend seeing the processes and techniques he employs in achieving his results. Youtube has a wealth of videos, just search under El Bulli.
In an era where celebrity chefs have blurred the lines of entertainer cum gastronomist or vice versa, Chef Adria has clearly set himself apart. Engineers, scientists, authors, philosophers are usually who we regard as great thinkers, but like those before him, and those he influences later, Ferran Adria is a mental giant of our day. He is revered and at the same time reviled. Revolutionaries usually are.
PS
I just hope he reads this and gives me a reservation if I'm ever in Catalonia, instead of making me one of the more than million reservation requests they turn away every year!
ADDENDUM:
A day after writing this blog Restaurant Magazine awarded Noma in Copenhagen top honors for 2010 replacing El Bulli's 4 year run as the Best Restaurant in The World.
Despite losing his long-held best restaurant in the world title, Ferran Adria walked away with chef of the decade honours from the magazine.
"I feel very, very emotional. Today's a very special day, because it's the last time I'll get a prize from the gastro world. El Bulli will never be a restaurant again, but don't think I'm going to leave you," Adria said at the award's ceremony.
