In the first scenes of the movie El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, Ferran Adrià, the master behind the famous Catalonian restaurant, is sucking on a fluorescent lollipop. Immersed in darkness, he opens his mouth and closes it, opens, then closes, each time exposing the inside of his mouth which glows with the same eerie light. The scene continues long enough that one is left wondering, what the hell is that? Adrià is considered to be one of the founding fathers of molecular gastronomy, using science to create modern works of haute cuisine art. So, one waits as if trying to find out how a magic trick is performed. The answer: proteins from a Japanese fluorescent fish.
The movie is timed with, as many food-obsessed people know, El Bulli closing its doors for the last time this past Saturday in order to return as an educational foundation, El Bulli Foundation. Gaining his reputation for the highest of avant-garde, concept cuisine and having been named among the best chefs in the world numerous times, Adrià is an amazing pioneer of high concept cooking.
One question bubbled to mind. If Ferran Adrià came into town (let’s say for this article, New York City), where would be a good place to take him to dinner? Would he want to be whisked off to Per Se? Would he dine at one high end restaurant after another? Would he do his research down in Chinatown, in Brighton Beach, in Flushing or Harlem? Do you think the guy would enjoy a good pub burger or would he want the infamous foie gras, truffle, Kobe beef, gold leaf (special sauce, lettuce, cheese, ok kidding) $175 burger from the Wall Street Burger Shoppe (which, unsurprisingly is closed now due to bankruptcy)?
The mind boggles. One has to wonder, if his world is surrounded by the finest food imaginable, what would a Shake Shack or Five Guys burger taste like?
