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El Bulli - let's not forget Albert Adria


Bux

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Let's not forget Albert Adria, a chap I have never met, but look forward to doing so. I know that Steve Klc knows him and vserna, no doubt. Do either of you know precisely what he does? I suspect that some of the excitement comes from him.

Albert is the pastry chef. I suspect his invovlement is greater in that they're brothers and in that this kind of work needs collaboration. We met Albert a couple of years ago when he, Klc and Conticini were doing a demonstration together at the chocolate salon in Paris. His English is not very good, but Esilda had a nice conversation with him in Spanish. Most of it however, was about dropping lunch and just serving dinner. He said it was just impossible keep the pace up all day that way. As you are well aware, the food served is very labor intensive, whether or not it's done at the last minute, and the meals last longer than at most three star restaurants. Klc should have more to add.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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If someone like Robert is asking what Albert does then maybe we should start a whole new thread. Albert makes Adria magic happen. For example, one day when Ferran and Albert were having lunch in town, Ferran had a glass of orange juice for dessert. He was just astounded at the freshness and the flavour and came up with a concept that would capture that moment - that excitement - but it was up to Albert to translate the idea into a product - and then a technique - and thus was born mandarin air. Albert - who makes it clear that he's a cook who happens to be the el Bulli pastry chef - is also a creative source - it was he who first tried the Asian tapioca ball drinks - which led to the new caviar suspensions. But having two intense siblings myself I asked Albert about conflicts - he paused, stared at me - "My brother" he said emphatically in Catalonian-accented English," He created the taller so we could work together - but separate."

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Loufood, of course I know Albert is the dessert chef, but I alway have had the belief that he contribute more than that and that it was impssible to know from the outside looking in. Your post, therefore, is very revealing and tends to confirm my hunch. Good work there, Loufood.

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I may not have met Albert, but I have his wife Silvia Fernandez. She works in the el Bulli office/"taller" and she appears to have it all: looks, charm, poise. You can see a photo of her in my "Cabinet of Dr. Adria" piece that should be in the Symposium fridge. Nice going, Albert.

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Well worth checking out

It's actually one of my favorite pieces of journalism on the site.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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