Ferran Adria: The Most Innovative Chef Alive?

Ferran Adria, who is said to be one of greatest chefs of the world, has had a major impact on us in the world of culinary and gormet cuisine. He has made magazine pages, articles worldwide, restaurants, as well as created products using Molecular Gastronomy. Adria created what is called and used by many chefs secularly is culinary foam. Ferran Adria had a successful career as a chef.

Ferran Adria was born on May 14, 1962 in Barcelona, Spain. At the age of only 14 he went to “Instituto Verge de la Merci” and studied business administration, then by the age of 18 he left school because he was bored. He had then picked up a job in a restaurant washing dishes at a French restaurant in Hotel Playafels. Luckily while working there he picked up and learned classical culinary techniques as a chef. After working a variety of jobs in the kitchen of different places, Ferran joined the Spanish Navy and cooked for Captain General’s staff. That was his first time being in charge of a kitchen. Soon after his term of working in the military was complete, he was hired as a line cook or Chef de Partie at El Bulli when trying out. At age 23, he became Head Chef.

Once Ferran Adria became head chef at El Bulli, he visited other French restaurants and brought techniques, cuisines, and other ideas that brought attention to the “unknown” restaurant which was located in a small town called Roses. A specific idea referred to as Molecular Gastronomy was one that stood out the most to Chef Adria and he became the best at it. This new style and his creations and experiments interested the minds of hungry guests. Some who truly looked as Ferran’s creations said that he may be considered not only a cook but an artist, a scientist, an inventor, a stage director, a designer, a philosopher, and an anarchist. Gourmet Magazines stated that Ferran Adria was the “Salvador Dali of the kitchen.”

Culinary Foam, one Chef Ferran’s most significant creations is now in use and has touched kitchens throughout the world. This culinary foam is just made up of natural flavoring and a pure gel adhesive. All this is put into a canister of whipped cream and with the aid of nitrous oxide, pushes out foam. This new way of preparing food is one his most acknowledged and most impressive experiments gone right. This is one of many ideas. In fact he closes his restaurant, which in 2008 made top of Gourmet magazines, El Bulli for six months every year to travel the world finding new ideas of how to prepare food and different sensations using food in a scientific way.

Chef Ferran Adria has made culinary history and to this day is working on a way of making history and surprising people. He now is still cooking, traveling, and writing books about his achievements, one being about his restaurant El Bulli. Ferran is a master of molecular gastronomy, a “Salvador Dali” in the kitchen and one of world’s greatest chefs.

Works Cited:

http://www.starchefs.com/events/studio/techniques/FAdria/bio_f_adria.shtml

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/futureoffood/story/0,,1969713,00.html

http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/chefbiographi2/p/ferranadriabio.htm