Talents from El Bulli
For many, El Bulli is just a memory. However, the seed planted by Ferran Adrià and Juli Soler continues to bear significant fruit. When a conference announces the presence of a professional who was once head chef at Cala Montjoi, we know we're very likely to witness a top-notch presentation.
It happened at the latest edition of Madrid Fusión, where the best presentation was given by Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch, chefs of Disfrutar, deservedly proclaimed the best restaurant in the world. They both demonstrated how to take the stage at a conference: with humility, a well-prepared presentation, contributing new ideas, and sharing their latest developments and creations with the attendees.
Last week, at another conference, Worldcanic, held in Lanzarote, Castro once again gave a masterclass in how to present a paper and demonstrated that preparation is essential before stepping onto a stage. He serves as an example for so many renowned chefs who think that their mere presence and a couple of videos are enough.
For a conference focused on volcanoes and Lanzarote, Castro reinterpreted some of the dishes from Disfrutar's menu with a local twist. Cauliflower and black apple, candied tubers, sea rock, lava charcoal and mango, and the use of the splendid scarlet prawn from La Santa. None of the makeshift solutions we've come to expect from some of our colleagues. This was all hard work and preparation for a truly impressive presentation.
The presentation by Albert Raurich, who was also the head chef of El Bulli for a decade and is now one of the greatest Western experts in Japanese cuisine, as he demonstrates every day at his restaurant Dos Palillos in Barcelona, turned out to be a great success, in the same vein of prior preparation and brilliant explanation.
The connection between this cuisine and the volcanic world is strong, given the abundance of volcanoes in Japan. His explanation of the Japanese technique of "onsen tamago," which involves cooking eggs in sulfurous water at temperatures below 65 degrees Celsius, so the yolk never fully sets, and his work curing fish under ash to remove all moisture, were particularly interesting.
Also from the El Bulli school, Ferran Centelles, a sommelier there for many years, gave another excellent presentation dedicated to Malvasia wines. These three examples demonstrate that El Bulli, beyond Adrià, was teeming with talent. And that talent remains very much alive and active.
