Mugaritz, MACC and how to exercise the muscle of creativity
The so-called Lesson Zero of the Mugaritz Postgraduate Course on Creative Processes started strong with Andoni Luis Aduriz defending creativity as "a weapon of light to navigate the future much better" and a handful of chefs who, after having passed through the kitchens of the Errenteria restaurant, defended the imprint it had left on them and on the gastronomic universe.
Although this postgraduate program at Madrid Culinary Campus (MACC), promoted by the Pontifical University of Comillas and Vocento, will not launch until January, some details have been given of what will be an initiative that is not restricted to the culinary world, but is open to all disciplines where creativity contributes to its growth.
The choice of Mugaritz, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, is no coincidence. The restaurant, which "is very trans because it doesn't want to be called a restaurant, it doesn't feel comfortable with that label," has had and continues to have the "ability to provoke thought in others." Even in those who haven't worked there, but have sampled the tasting menus developed by its R&D team each season.
From Yucatán (Mexico), where The Best Chef crowned Dabiz Muñoz (DiverXO) for the third consecutive year, Aduriz recalled the words he dedicated to him upon receiving the award for best chef in the world: "DiverXO is what it is today because Mugaritz exists and it is an undeniable project."
Mugaritz Universe
He's not the only one it has influenced. Kamilla Seidler, who put La Paz on the gastronomic map with Gustu and is now back in her homeland with Lola (Copenhagen), worked at Mugaritz from 2005 to 2006, and was captivated by "the love and respect for the product." Maca de Castro, before opening her restaurant in Mallorca, was "in the Mugaritz universe" from 2002 to 2003, "the place where everything is questioned and reflected upon," but has returned several times as a diner, an experience that "stays in your memory, from the mansion to the dishes, and the service."
Chilean Rodolfo Guzmán, currently at Boragó, felt like "the luckiest guy in the world" when he did his internship there in 2004. "Andoni is one of the most special people I've ever met and one of the greatest chefs, who infects you with his energy. He teaches you that there are no limits, he left a big mark on me as a person and as a chef," he told the audience.
This is part of what Aduriz, who noted that chefs who worked at his restaurant now lead "projects on five continents," wants to share in this postgraduate course on creative processes at MACC. It all starts with one fundamental principle: curiosity. The kind that opens doors to knowledge.
And because, as Ramón Perisé, from the restaurant's R&D team, recalled, "creativity is a muscle, Mugaritz is a context for creativity and that is what we want to bring to the MACC."
As Benjamín Lana, general director of Vocento Gastronomía, said in this Lesson Zero, they proposed that Aduriz "get involved in this mess" because "he has always gone off the beaten path, he likes to go off the beaten track" and because it fits perfectly with an initiative "with a Renaissance vision" because it brings together all kinds of disciplines.
This postgraduate course will take place over six months, on Mondays and Tuesdays, at the new MOM Culinary facilities in El Pardo (Madrid) and registration is open on the MACC website until December 15.
