a day at elBulli

11 November 2008, 17:21

2 hours before the show was to start, the mothership managed to score us some free tix to the highlight of good food month which everyone has been talking about- ferran adria. he was in sydney (and melb) to spruik his new book a day at elBulli.


and for the next 2 hours my little mind was blown away by the gorgeous photo slideshows that were interspersed with adrias talk. dressed in his chefs whites, the man was charming with a wry sense of humour that managed to be conveyed perfectly by his translator. he was passionate and so eager to share his techniques and experiences such as the mimetiso technique making jelly in the perfect shape of strawberries.

there was a round of laughter when adria showed a film clip on how he made his unique sponge cake with something as simple as a microwave which he claimed provided the most incredibly lightest texture. famous for his use of nitrogen in the kitchen adria says “nitrogen is a very simple product but everyone associates it with science… like it’s from mars… but please dont stick your finger in liquid nitrogen it will hurt!”


adria said his greatest pressure is respect. “in creativity the worst enemy is monotony. to avoid the monotony it’s important to create a certain amount of chaos. what is chaos? not knowing what to do.” attending this talk was probably as close as ill ever get to ferran adria and elBulli- did you know his 50 seat restaurant takes only 8,000 people a year and a crazy two million apply for places? while i was totally engrossed in his talk i wasnt a huge fan of the q&a time where the editor from good living and 2 sydney chefs asked him questions which sounded so un-spontaneous. another peeve of mine was the amount of people who left their seats while he was talking just so they could secure a book for him to sign at the end. pfft it’s not like you can press pause and rewind to see what youve missed out while you were gone!


after the show there was a mad rush for the queue to get adria to sign their book but what some unlucky people found out was that if you had preordered the ticket + book deal then the book was already signed heh heh and they got kicked off the queue which meant they missed out on the photo lol a giant thank you to aunty nancy (and her sons gf) who got us the tix!


and since we hadnt had any dinner we crossed the street to swissotel for a sugar hit!


‘three treats with chocolate’- milk chocolate velvet cheesecake; dark chocolate with caramel & pear; white chocolate with coconut sorbet. the cheesecake was gorgeously smooth but my favourite part of the dessert was the square of caramel and pear sweet, but not cloying


the drinks were a bit on the strong side haha but very pretty looking at least =P

1. Ohh you’re so lucky you get to see and hear Adria!
   The drinks look yummo!

   — Trisha    Nov 12, 12:04 AM    #
   
   

2. When your page first loaded, I thought you went to El Bulli LOL. I guess you get to see and hear him speak is good enough =D

   — Linda    Nov 12, 12:04 PM    #
   
   

3. Ooh lucky you. Did you get a pic with Ferran as well? His work is so full of passion — very admirable and inspiring!

   — Helen    Nov 12, 04:07 PM    #
   
   

4. Yay to free tickets! Lucky you for getting to go :)

   — Y    Nov 12, 11:09 PM    #
   
   

5. Ah envious! Nice quote too “what is chaos? not knowing what to do” – so very true…

   — Chris    Nov 13, 08:35 AM    #
   
   

6. so i take it you got a copy of the book? i can’t remember how long i spent in borders going through it (almost page by page)- it was fascinating! must’ve been inspiring the meet the chef in person!

   — panda    Nov 14, 10:00 PM    #
   
   

7. trisha: it was a last minute thing and we were very lucky to get pretty good seats too!
   linda: heh i would love to go i just uh cant justify going to spain atm lol
   helen: haha nah no pic cos i didnt buy the book =P
   y: i like free stuff heh
   chris: i cant believe i actually notes lol
   panda: sadly i didnt have the cash on me to buy it but maybe for xmas hehe

   — chocolatesuze    Nov 15, 05:40 PM    #
   
   

8. 3 yr waiting list, need to plan holiday around it…and soooo expensive…

   — baz    Nov 16, 02:08 PM    #
   
   

9. baz: yeah maybe later lol need to stockpile a whole heap o cash

   — chocolatesuze    Nov 17, 10:51 PM    #
   
   

10. I was lucky enough to go
    and see Fernan also.
    After the show I e-mailed a request for a reservation.

    I heard nothing for ages and then on Nov 25 I got an e-mail and my wife and I will be celebrating her 40th at El Bulli!!! Yeeha!

    — John    Dec 11, 04:27 PM    #