Albert Adrià: a gastronomic voyage towards innovation

Raised in a family that was always dedicated to the culinary world, it was his brother, Ferran—among the greatest exponents of haute cuisine—who led Chef Albert Adrià into the culinary arts. Thus began a voyage, in 1985, which would shape the trajectory of his career thereafter. His adventures commenced over the hobs at elBulli, which first took the number one position on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2002.

elBulli: the beginning of an illustrious career

Located in Cala Montjoi, a cove along the Costa Brava, elBullirestaurante represents an imaginative creator of haute cuisine. It was here that the young Albert refined his skills in different culinary areas and found his highest form of artistic and professional expression in the discipline of patisserie. The time he spent at elBulli nurtured the chef’s curiosity and ambition, causing him to reflect on the special contribution that innovation can bring to fine patisserie and on his own pioneering role.

His first book, Los postres de elBulli (The Desserts of elBulli), was the product of a long process that led Chef Adrià towards a new and personal vision of patisserie in the restaurant. His return to elBulli’s research and development department was a momentous chapter in his career.

Enigma

In 2000, in Barcelona, elBullitaller was launched: a laboratory of culinary creativity affiliated with elBullirestaurante, under the direction of the Adrià brothers and Chef Oriol Castro. Situated in an eighteenth-century palace, elBullitaller was the first training course in the world opened by a restaurant.

ONE PHOTO OF THE CHEF WITH THE LAVAZZA JACKET

elBarri, an haute cuisine ecosystem

The chef’s culinary voyage was characterised by two fundamental principles: experimentation and collaboration. The perfect culmination of all this is elBarri, in Barcelona. This project brought together five restaurants, all managed by Albert Adrià, which revolutionised the approach to cuisine in the Catalan capital, launching it onto the international culinary scene and paving the way for many new businesses. This would make the neighbourhood around Tickets, Enigma, Bodega 1900, Hoja Santa and Pakta an important ecosystem for haute cuisine.

In particular, Enigma is a space with a “fantastical”, one-of-a-kind look, which is accessed through a code that is given upon booking. Through techniques and tastes that pay homage to each other, the boundaries between gastronomic and sensorial experiences are broken down entirely, and we find ourselves immersed in a menu divided into three acts, with many of the dishes finished or prepared directly at the table. The experience involves two and a half hours of gastronomic excitement and enjoyment, designed with a rhythm that lets us take full pleasure in every mouthful while changing dining area several times during the meal.

At Enigma, one can enjoy the Specialty Coffee 1895 by Lavazza Coffee Designers Avanguardia V and Cocoa Reloaded, a new and immersive way of creating, describing, and tasting coffee. An extremely limited edition, the 100% Arabica Avanguardia V microlot is an ode to the excellence of Indonesian coffee culture. Its carefully cultivated coffee beans, produced at high altitudes, offer a unique taste profile of sweet fruit with notes of plum and dried apricot in every cup. The Cocoa Reloaded Specialty Blend, on the other hand, carries the unmistakable essence of chocolate, with notes of spicy cinnamon and orange marmalade. Both of these specialty coffees are served either through espresso extraction or made with a moka pot.

Enigma

In 2011, elBulli restaurante closed its doors only to become, two years later, elBullifoundation: a vision of the future that carried with it a duty to give a voice to the legacy of elBulli. At the same time, Tapas: la cocina del Tickets (Tapas, The Tickets Cuisine) was published. For Chef Albert Adrià, tapas are inextricably associated with parties, surprises, and happiness. At Tickets, for example, enjoying tapas is more than a way of eating—it is a way of life, one that we can also find in Turin, at the restaurant Condividere.

Tickets

Cooking Coffee, the book presented with Lavazza

In 2015, Lavazza and Albert Adrià presented the haute cuisine book Cooking Coffee: 23 recipes in which coffee was treated not as a simple ingredient but as the hero of new evolutions in flavour. Thanks to the creative and experimental contribution by Lavazza, the concept of coffee as a beverage evolved into unprecedented and kaleidoscopic combinations of liquids, solids, gases, and spherifications. It is an ode to coffee’s flavours, but it is also a feast for the eyes that explores the multitude of brewing methods and delves into the culture and close connection between the figures of the barista and the chef. Both, in fact, are professionals who carry out rigorous, elaborate preparations with a sharp focus on the final result, with impeccable, artful presentation and the strictest attention to detail. Some examples are the curious cork stopper made of sweet coffee vapour, or the delicate and evocative cherry tree with amaretto and coffee cloud.

Cork stopper made of sweet coffee vapour – Cooking Coffee

Cherry tree with amaretto and coffee clouds – Cooking Coffee

New restaurants opening from 2016 to today

2016 was the year of 50 Days by Albert Adrià in London, followed by the opening of Cakes & Bubbles a few years later. The prestigious Café Royal hosted a patisserie space inspired by La Dolça, the much-loved area of Tickets reserved for all desserts. Here too, one can enjoy the Specialty Coffee 1895 by Lavazza Coffee Designers: Calima, a single-origin coffee from Colombia that grows at an altitude of up to 2,000 metres, characterised by a sweet, aromatic profile with notes of lychee and papaya.

The collaboration of Chefs Albert and Ferran Adrià with Spanish Cook and Restaurateur José Andrés also led to the creation of Mercado Little Spain. Three full-service restaurants, fifteen food and retail kiosks, and two bars celebrate Spanish gastronomy in Manhattan. A veritable love letter to Spain, the space represents a culinary voyage that reaches every corner of a country which offers one of the richest gastronomic traditions in the world.

Without a doubt, we can assert that the journey of Chef Albert Adrià continues to be defined by innovation, collaboration, and a relentless search for excellence in cuisine even today, elements that represent the perfect match created by the chef and Lavazza.