Thursday, November 18, 2010

Ferran Adrià and his view on eating

Ferran Adrià is one of the persons in the world that I most admire. He has not only created a new entire way of approaching cooking (what he call desconstructivist), but he has been sharing his discoveries with the world. His influence and legacy in the craft of cooking is undeniable.

I was surprised to discover that Harvard had a class on the science of cooking, and one of the most important components of it was bringing star chefs (and by star I don't mean TV stars, but truly visionary chefs, i.e. Michelin stars) to give a public lecture.

The first of them was a "conversation" between Harold McGee and Ferran (whose translator was José Andrés, one of his disciples, and from who I learnt to appreciate Spanish food via his TV program).

I have always wanted to eat at El Bulli (good luck!). I have been lucky to have eaten at two of Andres restaurants (although I still hope to eat at the Minibar one day--which is inside Atlantico, where I have eaten).

Harold McGee is responsible for the On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the kitchen, and his book is the best bible on the "why" of cooking. If you are a cooking geek, you MUST get this book.

The lecture is well worth the time for anybody who values the food in front of them.

And enjoy the answer to the last question of the day (which he misunderstands). Yet, his answer is a gem of insight on what eating is (and I paraphrase): what we choose to eat, how we do it, and how we enjoy it depends on when we do it, where we do it and with whom we do it.

Enjoy!



--dmg

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