Men and women dressed in white coats busy themselves quietly with diagrams, lists and an array of machines.

Only the sight of the odd cucumber or piece of ham betrays the fact you are in a kitchen.
For this is the self-styled 'laboratory' of Ferran Adrià, the godfather of Spanish alta cocina (haute cuisine). 

This is the man who used a blowtorch to coat the yolk of a raw quail's egg and an electric screwdriver to uncoil a spool of sweet thread to make an edible ring.

Above a quiet Barcelona street, Adrià is dreaming up ever more innovative plates to use when his famous restaurant, El Bulli, opens for just six months from April.

Yards away on La Rambla, tourists enjoy paella or jamon in the February sun, unaware, perhaps, just round the corner is the man who has lead a revolution in Spanish cooking.

El Bulli, in the coastal resort of Rosas, north of Barcelona, has been voted Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant Magazine.

But Adrià really arrived on the internationally culinary scene when Arthur Lubow, influential food critic of The New York Times, hailed the restaurant as "a gastronome's once-before-you-die" experience.

Lubow raved about the 'Kellog's paella' made with Rice Krispies and shrimp heads and the vanilla-scented potato mash, just some of the 25 dishes to be enjoyed over three hours.

He said this new generation of Spanish cooks had taken over from the French as the most innovative in the world.

Now hardly a week goes past without this self-taught son of a Barcelona house painter appearing in the Spanish newspapers or on television.

Most of the coverage is favourable and Adrià has a legion of fans.

Adrià himself is very down-to-earth and welcoming when I meet him.

He has faced criticism from those who accuse him of using 'gimmicks' to attract media attention.

"Everyone has the right to a point of view. But there are those who understand the alta cocina and those who do not," he says.

"I don't try to explain the mechanics of a Formula One car to someone else.

"I am very lucky that do not have to work, but I do because I love what I do."

Adrià added: "I think the majority of people are proud of what I and others have achieved for Spanish cooking."

Despite his doubters, the transformation of Spanish cooking thanks to the work of Adrià and others like Juan Mari Arzak, Carme Ruscalleda and Martín Berastegui, has been dramatic. 

The culinary revolution has spilled over from El Bulli to kitchens from Seville to Santiago de Compostela.  

Culinary institutes are filling up with a generation of Adrià-wannabes.

Cooking and wine-tasting courses have become fashionable, celebrity chefs' cookbooks fill bookstores and televised cooking shows now feature creative cuisine.

José Luis Guerra, secretary of FEHR, a national restaurant association, believes alta cocina is in vogue because, thanks to Spain's economic boom, diners see it as a status symbol. 

"There has been a cultural revolution that trickled down from top to bottom - it's even made it to the tapas bars," Guerra said.

"The other day I was at a wedding and they served lentils with a spoonful of foie gras. We've never been at that level before."

Adrià can have the last laugh at his critics.

El Bulli has 8,000 places for diners during the six months it is open, but receives tens of thousands of calls from hopefuls trying to secure a reservation.

"The only thing that bores me is people continually asking if they can get a table," he smiled.

[Copyright Expatica]

[February 2006]

Subject: Spain; Ferran Adrià