Ferran Adrià at the 92nd Street Y

Last night, I had the immense pleasure of going to see Ferran Adrià speak at the 92nd Street Y. He was on stage with Lisa Abend, author of THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE, about the stagiaires of elBulli (which I will have to add to my To Read pile), and journalist Adam Gopnik. This is after a long week of rereading ON FOOD AND COOKING by Harold McGee, which I last browsed through in 2007, shortly after meeting McGee at an event at my family friend Gene Lester’s rare citrus collection (more on this amazing connection later, I’m sure). And after ordering my copy of MODERNIST CUISINE, a hefty purchase inspired by this New Yorker review.

Because if you’re going to be a food science and cooking process nerd, why not learn from the best? And Adrià and his world-famous elBulli are certainly known as the best. What impressed me most about the man in person is that he’s very straightforward and very precise, which I guess should come as no surprise. He spoke at length about approaching food and paying careful attention to every aspect — as he did with a sample analysis of a glass of water — but also about the experience of food and the simple enjoyment of eating it. But both, in his mind, boil down to clarity and analysis.

He also spoke about the difference between cuisine that highlights the product — all of the things you can do with a tomato — and the process — all of the things you can do with a tomato. What always surprises him, he said, is that people come to elBulli and prefer the product to the process, which is rather not the point. For example, a signature dish at elBulli is the Spherical Olives (you can see a recipe here). Sometimes diners will ask the servers to please bring out “real” olives, not Adrià’s version. Huh? I guess if you just happen to stumble into elBulli and have no idea what goes on there, you’re a lucky sonofabitch and can do whatever you like. (I just wouldn’t want to be there when all those appreciative-but-reservationless foodies who would’ve loved the experience hear about it.)

The talk ended with Adrià showing a few videos about his new endeavor, the elBulli Foundation, which is set to open in 2014. It will be a sustainably built center for gastronomic creativity and sounds a lot like, say, an artist colony or retreat for chefs. You can read more about it here. Adrià’s focus is on constantly growing, changing, and innovating, so we’ll see what kind of food and science ideas evolve from his new experiments. Once he gets up and running, he’ll have video feeds and Internet updates about everything that will happen at the elBulli Foundation so that curious cooks around the world can play along. For now, I’ll have to read through yet another addition to my teetering To Read pile: the A DAY AT ELBULLI cookbook.