Madrid Fusión 2006 - Ferran's manifesto

[AlexForbes]

I just got back from the Madrid Fusión. Many of the greatest were there. The Americans Thomas Keller and Charlie Trotter and the Spanish Juan Mari Arzak and Martin Berasateguí, among many other star chefs, gathered in Madrid last week to talk food. But the biggest star of all at the fourth annual Madrid Fusión, widely regarded as the world’s most important gastronomic forum, was Ferrán Adrià, chef-owner of El Bulli restaurant, who has done for haute cuisine what the iPod did for music fans: nothing short of triggering a revolution. Adrià’s signature (and now ubiquitous) savoury foams are only one of numerous inventions (think liquid ravioli, powdered foie gras, edibles “papers” and “airs”), many copied all over the foodie world, which have changed the way we look at haute cuisine. Today, a many years after he began whipping potato foam out of pressurized canisters, his followers have spread his gospel of science-inspired, defiant, playful food, from New York to São Paulo, from Chicago to Lima.

The breadth and ever-growing relevance of Adrià-style inventive cuisine, typically a succession of small servings of interestingly textured concoctions, some kookier than others, has snowballed in recent years, achieving the status of a true revolution. Some of today’s best chefs, like England’s Heston Blumenthal and the American Grant Achatz, are not only converts, but are actually pushing the style in their own different directions. Yet this movement still has no name. The American specialized press recently started calling it “molecular gastronomy”, a term coined in the eighties by Nicholas Kurti, a gastro-scientist at Oxford University. But alas, the name hasn’t stuck.

In his opening-day presentation at the Madrid Fusión, Adrià challenged the crowd to come up with a term for the food revolution which he personifies and leads. In the audience, Trotter, Keller and Homaru Cantu (a Chicago-based prodigy), among many other chefs, listened attentively.

Adrià scoffed at the term “molecular gastronomy”: “Not only does that make food sound unnapetizing, but it only refers to one aspect of what we are doing at El Bulli today”. He then unveiled a 23-point manifesto defining more clearly what this movement is about (or rather, what El Bulli’s food is about). He conceded that “… the collaboration with experts from different fields, (like) industrial design and science, is primordial”, but refused having himself or his followers pigeonholed as “mad scientists of the kitchen”.

To demonstrate that Ferranism goes much beyond experiments in a lab, he stated, for instance, that “cooking is a language through which one can express harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation”. The manifesto also underlined the importance of team work in dish creation, the predominance of fish and vegetables over red meat, small over large portions, fast versus slow cooking times and new flavours of milks (of nuts) and distillations (of earth or fruits) over classical broths.

Here are all 23 points of Ferran's manifesto:

1- Cooking is a language through which one can express harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation.

2- One may assume that only top-quality products will be used and that the techniques used to prepare dishes will be well-mastered.

3- All products have the same gastronomic worth, regardless of price.

4- We prefer to cook with vegetables and seafood. Dairy also predominates, as well as dried fruits and other products that amount to a light cuisine. We rarely cook large cuts of red meat or whole birds.

5- Even if the characteristics of products are changed (temperature, texture, shape, etc.), the goal is to preserve its original flavour, except when slow-cooking or when searching for the matrix resulting from reactions such as Maillard’s.

6- Cooking methods, both classical and modern, are a heritage that the cook must utilize to the maximum extent.

7- As happened throughout the past in other fields of human knowledge, new technologies support the progress of gastronomy.

8- The family of fonds is expanding, and alongside the classic ones we use lighter broths (flavoured waters, consimmés, clarified vegetable juices, milks of dried fruits or nuts) in similar ways.

9- The information that is on a plate is enjoyed through all senses, and also through reflexion.

10- The stimuli of the senses are not only taste-related: we can also play with the senses of touch (contrast of temperatures and textures), smell, sight (colours, shapes, illusionisms, etc), so that the senses become one of our points of reference when we create dishes.

11- The techno-conceptual search is one of the cornerstones of the creative pyramid.

12- We create as a team.

13- The boundary separating savoury and sweet is blurred. There’s a rise in the importance of savoury ice creams and cold food in general.

14- The classical structure of dishes is being ruptured. There is a revolution in the appetizers and desserts, in the sense that they have become symbiotic, while the appetizer - main course – dessert hierarchy is broken.

15- A new way of presenting food is gaining strength.

16- A chef’s cooking style is linked to his feelings towards his surroundings.

17- The products and preparations from other countries are submitted to our cuisine’s own criteria.

18- There are two main ways to reach harmony between products and flavours: through memory (deconstructing, links to the autonomous cook, adaptation, previous modern recipes), or through new combinations.

19- Our food is connected to the world and the language of the arts.

20- Recipes are conceived to be served in small portions.

21- Taking a dish out of context, or using irony, performance or spectacle is perfectly acceptable, as long as this is not done in a superficial way, and so that there is a link with gastronomic reflexion.

22- The tasting menu is how we express our avant-garde cuisine. Its structure is alive, and is subject to change. We are betting on concepts such as snacks, tapas, morphings, etc.

23- The knowledge and/or the collaboration with experts from different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, science) is primordial in our evolution.

[docsconz]

Thanks for sharing this, Alexandra! His manifesto is not unlike one of his own tasting menus.

I heartily ascribe to most of his statements. A couple that I do not fully embrace as stated are numbers 3 & 4. As for number 3, I agree that price is not the issue, although I don't agree that all ingredients necessarily have the same intrinsic value. I believe that what he was trying to say with this statement is along the lines of what he said here on eGullet that is quoted in my sig line below. Yes, a very good sardine is better than a bad lobster, but I still prefer a great lobster to a great sardine.

I don't disagree with bringing seafood and vegetables to the fore, but I still love red meat and enjoy whole-cooked birds. As long as a time and place for these pursuits remain, I don't really have a problem with this point though.

The bottom line is that I find this manifesto an exciting elucidation of everything I could not myself adequately verbalize about what makes this movement interesting to me. It is absolutely consistent not only with my experience of El Bulli, but other restaurants of its ilk at which I have had the same feeling of excitement - restaurants such as Alinea, Arzak, WD-50 and Moto.

As for a name for the movement, did he ever actually suggest one? One that has been bandied about here and I have started using is "hypermodern". Other possibilities, especially with the manifesto could include "Ferranism" or Adriism". Not to take away anything from all the other fine practitioners of this style, but he has been the primary pacesetter and now the one to put it down on paper.

[AlexForbes]

As for a name for the movement, did he ever actually suggest one? One that has been bandied about here and I have started using is "hypermodern". Other possibilities, especially with the manifesto could include "Ferranism" or Adriism".

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I myself have been calling it Ferranism for a couple of years, which I think is the term that best describes the movement. But to answer your question, I will once again quote Ferran: "Manifesto in hand, we contacted some friends that have followed our work for a longe time (Bob Noto, Toni Massanés, Jaume Coll, Pau Arenós among others), and each suggested names that, at this time, can serve to start up a debate: postmodern cuisine, transvanguardista cuisine, reformist cuisine, logical cuisine, evolutionist cuisine, etc. In the other hand, there are those who sugget that the most appropriate name is the one coined by the New York Times in 2003 when it published its 14-page story on Spanish gastronomy: "New nouvelle cuisine".

I still prefer Ferranism.

[docsconz]

As for a name for the movement, did he ever actually suggest one? One that has been bandied about here and I have started using is "hypermodern". Other possibilities, especially with the manifesto could include "Ferranism" or Adriism".

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I myself have been calling it Ferranism for a couple of years, which I think is the term that best describes the movement. But to answer your question, I will once again quote Ferran: "Manifesto in hand, we contacted some friends that have followed our work for a longe time (Bob Noto, Toni Massanés, Jaume Coll, Pau Arenós among others), and each suggested names that, at this time, can serve to start up a debate: postmodern cuisine, transvanguardista cuisine, reformist cuisine, logical cuisine, evolutionist cuisine, etc. In the other hand, there are those who sugget that the most appropriate name is the one coined by the New York Times in 2003 when it published its 14-page story on Spanish gastronomy: "New nouvelle cuisine".

I still prefer Ferranism.

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I certainly prefer Ferranism over any of those, although I still like hypermodern as it goes beyond a single individual, however important and influential he may be.

[pedro]

I'm not sure if the scope of this manifesto goes beyond Adria's work or not. To me, it sounds more like a description of his philosophy than a call to others to join him in this hypervanguard movement.

[docsconz]

I'm not sure if the scope of this manifesto goes beyond Adria's work or not. To me, it sounds more like a description of his philosophy than a call to others to join him in this hypervanguard movement.

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Whether it is simply a description of his tenets or a call to others to join him IMO doesn't really matter as there are others who are basically using the same or a similar approach and have followed his lead or forged a similar one for themselves. How many people have worked in his kitchen and gone on to their own restaurants and who have they in turn spawned? And then there are those who have never worked at El Bulli, but have still been influenced by developments there. Wherther intended for others to follow or not, the fact that he has put these ideas on paper is significant enough in its own right.

[pedro]

I don't disagree with you, John, but to me the importance of this manifesto compared with the books already written by Ferran and elBulli's team is little. It has the value of presenting a good summary of their philosophy, which of course can't be neglected.

[Mikeb19]

This is definitely interesting. I'm not sure I agree with Ferran's manifesto, I don't think his way of presenting food is the future. I disagree with many of his points (4, 5, 20, 22), and many of his other points are not significant as they are part of older cooking philosophies as well. Another thing, where is Pierre Gagnaire, Michel Bras, etc...? Are they not part of the new food movement as well? Certainly this is interesting news in gastronomy, but IMO has little real significance.

[docsconz]

This is definitely interesting.  I'm not sure I agree with Ferran's manifesto, I don't think his way of presenting food is the future.  I disagree with many of his points (4, 5, 20, 22), and many of his other points are not significant as they are part of older cooking philosophies as well.  Another thing, where is Pierre Gagnaire, Michel Bras, etc...?  Are they not part of the new food movement as well?  Certainly this is interesting news in gastronomy, but IMO has little real significance.

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The future? As in dominant style of food preparation? I don't think so either nor do I think it is intended to be. It relies too much on creativity and humor in addition to flavor and is probably too technically difficult or labor intensive for mass adoption. I agree with Pedro that this manifesto is simply a concise description of what they are trying to do at El Bulli. By writing it down, I believe that Ferran is laying claim to the concepts, something that neither Gagnaire, Bras or anyone else has done - at least not so concisely or thoroughly. It also appears to be an invitation to others to follow their lead. Whether others do so or not is up to them. Many have already done so, which is what makes this important and interesting. The brevity of the manifesto compared to the books cannot be minimized in its importance in today's world. The books are there to back up the manifesto with evidence that the manifesto is not mere rhetoric, but what the restaurant is actually doing.

[AlexForbes]

"The brevity of the manifesto compared to the books cannot be minimized in its importance in today's world. The books are there to back up the manifesto with evidence that the manifesto is not mere rhetoric, but what the restaurant is actually doing."

Docsconz, I couldn't agree more with all you've said above. Furthermore, Ferran's books, justly, cost a fortune, and therefore are available to a lucky few. This manifesto, however, is something many more people can read, especially now that I translated it into English and posted it here

(he wants word to spread), and that is exactly what he is trying to do: lay claim to this movement, which, like it or not, is gaining in strength every month, and every time a new chef opens a restaurant somewhere serving Ferranist cuisine.

[Gerry Dawes]

As for a name for the movement, did he ever actually suggest one? One that has been bandied about here and I have started using is "hypermodern". Other possibilities, especially with the manifesto could include "Ferranism" or Adriism". Not to take away anything from all the other fine practitioners of this style, but he has been the primary pacesetter and now the one to put it down on paper.

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In Spain, we often refer to the Adria movement as "Ferranismo."

[vserna]

With Philippe Regol and others in an informal e-mail chain he has set up in Spain we're already discussing this 'decalog' (a clumsy name since this refers to ten rules and Ferran is proposing... 23!) There are many things to be thought over, reformed or refined, as already mentioned here: from the unacceptably written point 4 ("all products have the same gastronomic worth, regardless of price") to the methodically uncomfortable mixture of real 'rules' and other points which are merely acknowledgements of the way things are being done, or general claims that belong to modern cuisine as much as they do to previous eras, such as 'nouvelle cuisine'.

That said, I wonder if the purpose isn't in itself futile: things were simpler and more clear-cut 35 years ago with 'nouvelle cuisine'. Now, after so much deconstruction, the very concept of cuisine may have been deconstructed to death, so that the search for a common set of values which all (or most of) the modern cooks could claim as their own may be destined to fail. But of course trying to define these values is a worthy endeavor in itself...

[AlexForbes]

There are many things to be thought over, reformed or refined, as already mentioned here

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Yes, and Ferran is the first to admit this, and makes it clear that his manifesto is a starting point, not at all set in stone. He wanted to trigger precisely the discussion we are now having.

[MobyP]

Hi Gerry. Nice to have met you at the conference.

Although I don't speak Spanish, it seemed to me from the translation - as Alexandra says - he wanted to start a conversation rather than make a proclamation. "This is just something for us to talk about" was the quote I wrote down. I would be interested, did he actually call it a 'manifesto?' He seemed to me to be very modest about the nature of his offering. Almost as if - impressively - he is working on an 'open source' type aesthetic. Trying to achieve a communal truth, rather than an hierarchal one. He was also promoting his new book on food science (sorry, I don't have my notes infront of me for the title), and very much wanted everyone to contribute to the contents, for it to be representative of the community, rather than some culinary oligarchy.

Edited January 27, 2006 by MobyP (log)

[vserna]

This document, signed by 'El Bulli' and not by Ferran personally (although Ferran Adrià read it and commented on it at Madrid Fusión) is headlined 'A synthesis of our philosophy' and contains these two preliminary paragraphs before the aforementioned 23 articles:

"Lately we have observed that some cooks outside Spain define their style, give it a name, and in many cases that definition includes a mention of our cuisine or, more generally, of high Spanish cuisine. Curiously, and for no obvious reason, we have never intended to give a name to our cuisine. That's why we have now begun asking ourselves if we could give a name, not just to El Bulli's style, but to present-day 'haute cuisine' in Spain. From that point we have contacted some of the friends who have followed us for a long time (Bob Noto, Toni Massanés, Jaume Coll, Pau Arenós and others), and each one of them has suggested names that, for the time being, could serve to launch a debate: post-modern cuisine, trans-vanguard cuisine, reform cuisine, logical cuisine, evolutionist cuisine, etcetera. On the other hand, there are those who say the best name is the one thought up by The New York Times [Magazine] to headline its 14-page report on Spanish cuisine in 2003: 'The new 'nouvelle''.

"But beyond whatever name we may find and agree upon, we also thought it would be interesting to try and put the bases of our cuisine in writing. That is why we have attempted to include in this page a sort of 'manifesto', some principles that will set out our style. Even though distilling our philosophy in just a few sentences has not been an easy task, from all our body of work we have reached these 23 'commandments' which we believe may serve as a starting point to define our cuisine."

Edited January 27, 2006 by vserna (log)

[docsconz]

For those who were there, What was the energy level in the room when Ferran was speaking? Were people rapt in attention and a buzz in the air or was it more of a ho-hum, here's another speaker atmosphere? I would imagine the former, but it would be interesting to hear if this was, in fact, so.

What kind of response did his words elicit from the audience?

[AlexForbes]

For those who were there, What was the energy level in the room when Ferran was speaking? Were people rapt in attention and a buzz in the air or was it more of a ho-hum, here's another speaker atmosphere? I would imagine the former, but it would be interesting to hear if this was, in fact, so.

What kind of response did his words elicit from the audience?

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Needless to say, everyone has hanging to his every word, including chefs Keller, Cantu and many others. Before his manifesto, he played a video of an Italian couple dining at El Bulli, focusing on their emotions, and not on the food, showing them chewing, laughing, sipping, etc. If I knew how, I'd post a couple of my pics...

[vserna]

Yes, he's a great showman. There were two predominant attitudes - the reverential, rapt one, mostly from foreign participants, and the smiles from Spanish veterans - neither mocking nor over-awed, just good-humored because we've known one another for so long - something along the lines of "Here goes our crazy Ferran - at it again..."

[AlexForbes]

[docsconz]

Alex, Thanks for the photos.

Victor, I can see how those reactions would have been the case. It is a lot easier to take the treasure one has for granted. That is not to say that he is unappreciated by his countrymen. Not in the least. You are simply more familiar with him. He is a part of you and a part of a collective revolution in your national gastronomy, albeit a major or even the major one.

[Bux]

Victor and Moby, thanks for your input. I think your posts put this all in a very reasonable perspective. perhaps one that asks when is a manifesto not a manifesto. And of course, Alex, thanks for your initial report.

[chefseanbrock]

more pics, more pics

[MobyP]

Unfortunately the expressions on the faces of the rapt foreigners were probably determined by two other factors aside from just admiration - first, the stuttering of the translators over unfamiliar language ("Er... I don't know what he just said" was not an unfamiliar refrain during Adria, Rocca, Beratesetegui), and second, that the translation broadcast level was set at a lower volume than the stage, so, like listening to someone talking moderately in a loud night club, you had to really focus.

Adria is a remarkable speaker - I saw him the night before as well at another ceremony - not only for the content, and perhaps I noticed this because I'm not a native speaker, but his level of relaxation before a crowd, his ability to talk extemporaneously, was greater than most other speakers over the three days.

What was perhaps the most striking was the apparent sense of community among many of the Spanish chefs. It was rare for the Americans (Wylie Dufresne noted it as well. "I don’t think anyone considers the Americans as united as this"), and practically unheard of amongst the Brits (of which there were a few notable names in the crowd, having paid their own passage).

[docsconz]

What else came out of this conference besides the "Manifesto of Ferranismo"?

Moby, Thanks for the additional insight and detail.

[AlexForbes]

Hi again,

I have been very busy transcribing everything I've got on my digital recorder to my hard drive, and I was seriously considering posting Ferran's live comments to each point of his manifesto, which might answer some of the questions raised in this forum. Yes, it's true the translation was too loud and often faulty, so I am very glad I recorded Ferran himself, and not the English translator. I will have to wait 2 weeks to post all this, as this is something I'm working on for Brazil's equivalent of Gourmet magazine, called Gula (www.gula.com.br) and it wouldn't be fair to them to spill the beans here first (plus, I've got to translate all of it). Answering your question about what else was interesting at the MF, I will also describe, for the same publication, all the kooky tools and machines which were presented (a machine which steams from the inside out, a huge distilling machine, Homaru's flavour replicator, etc etc). I will post pics of these when I have some free time!

A.