A Review of Ferran: The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food by Colman Andrews

“This will be the last book about me.  No, really.  The last one that I will collaborate with.” -Ferran Adrià, in conversation with the (book’s) author

What more may be said of the most famous chef on earth?  His culinary philosophy has arguably had more impact on gastronomy than any movement since nouvelle cuisine.  His restaurant was voted the best in the world for a number of years in this last decade.  And whether you believe his statement or not, he has been known to quote the number of requests for reservations his restaurant turns down in a year at 2 million.  Numerous fellow chefs, from Catalan Santi Santamaria, to the profane Anthony Bourdain, have vocalized opinions of him.

True to the Author’s Note, Colman Andrews avoids covering those aspects of El Bulli that have already been sufficiently reiterated.  The rendering does indeed qualify as an “inside story”.

Throughout the story, Colman Andrews provides us a picture of a very human Ferran (in the book he is referred to by his first name alone) while documenting the extraordinary (but gradual) transformation of El Bulli (referred to as El Bulli rather than elBulli throughout the book) into the icon it has become.  Ferran leads a surprisingly simple personal life.  He is a man of rather ordinary physical attributes.  His background would have given no hints of his destiny.  Throughout the first half of his adulthood he was known within his immediate circle for partying.  To this day, it seems he is not above arguing with his brother Albert over soccer at the Taller.  At the end of the book we find that, alas, the chef who discovered culinary deconstruction has not found ultimate meaning in life.

The flow of the book lags periodically.  Colman Andrews makes a less than perfect attempt to describe his own dining experience at El Bulli (reading through the feedback letters in Food for Thought/Thought for Food may be more insightful.)  When descriptions are given of the El Bulli environment, for those who have not had the privilege of experiencing El Bulli first-hand,referring to pictures from A Day at elBulli may be helpful.

All in all, Colman Andrew’s judgment in designating Ferran an “authentic genius” is a sentiment I have heard shared by more than one gastronome.  As is made sufficiently clear in the last chapter Morphing, since Ferran’s announcement early this year that El Bulli would be closing to later reopen as a foundation, the future of El Bulli is uncertain.  I, for one, do not believe this will be the last book on Ferran or El Bulli.     

Harold McGee at the Commonwealth

On Monday, my father and I attended a presentation featuring Harold McGee .  The presentation was hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California, at the Sabrato Community Conference Center.

Harold McGee is author of On Food and Cooking, known as one of the most comprehensive books of its subject, and one I have found very useful for reference.

As it turns out, the presentation was given in Q & A style, with the interviewer being Chef George Hadres of the Professional Culinary Institute.

People in the audience were encouraged to write down questions for Harold McGee to answer.  My own question had to do with the impact of calcium salts on gelatin-based systems.

The presentation turned out to be quite interesting.  Among other things, he discussed microwaves, Teflon pans, raw foods, salt, sous-vide cooking, monosodium glutamate, and the term molecular gastronomy.

Harold McGee likened recipes to documents, that must be translated to the cook’s unique context.

He made the interesting observation that if a cook can’t control heat, it is as if they are cooking with one hand tied behind their back.

He also mused that we are barely conscious of all the factors that influence our perception of food.

For the podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/commonwealth-club-radio-program/id113721208