Reinventing Food Ferran Adrià: The man who changed the way we eat

I never got to visit elbulli. My trip to Barcelona was in the winter months when elbulli was closed. And, now it’s closed ‘permanently’. What I did experience in Barcelona was an opportunity to immerse myself in Catalan culture. That’s as close as I got until now.

This is the remarkable story of how Ferran Adrià became ‘The Best Cook on the Planet’, leading his restaurant elBulli to win ‘Best Restaurant in the World’ a record four years in a row.

The 16 chapters of Reinventing Food range from Ferran Adrià and Why He Matters and Gorgonzola Mochi and Rabbit Brains to Disco-Beach, a term coined by the author to describe the early years of elBulli, and Anti-Ferran, Santi-Ferran, which discusses in detail Ferran and his critics. Concluding with Morphing, Reinventing Food looks forward to exciting new opportunities, as Ferran discusses the future for elBulli following the announcement that the restaurant will close at the end of 2011.

All of the book is a great read. I highly recommend it. I’m re-reading my favourite chapter TWO THOUSAND YEARS OF EL BULLI. I’m in the midst of it! This is a book I will read again and again. If you only read one food book this year, I say let this be it.

“El Bulli in a way is a traditional restaurant, a restaurant with a direct connection to the Spanish or Catalan palate.” – Oscar Caballero in conversation with the author.

This fascinating biography will engage not just lovers of food, but anyone who enjoys an inspiring story – the improbable tale of how one young Catalan with no boyhood interest in food ended up revolutionising the gastronomic world by reinventing not just cooking techniques but the whole experience of eating.

And the bonus is this biography is by one of my favourite food writers. Colman Andrews was the co-founder of Saveur (featured in the Inside Cuisine : Food Sites we like – links) This is a beautifully written, intelligent and engaging book, rich in food history and story telling. Have you read it yet? What did you think?