Essential | Octubre-Noviembre 2004

8/3/2019 Essential | Octubre-Noviembre 2004

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S MPLING THE CR ATIONS OF LEGENDARY CAT LAN CHEF FERRAN

ADRIA AT THE EL BULLI HOT· HI\CTEI DA BE AZUZA NEAR SE TLL

NO EL BULLI HOTEL HACIENDA BENAZUZA, PERTO DE

SEVILHA FOMOS PROVAR AS CRIAt;OES DO LE -DAR 10 CHEF

CATALAO FERRAN ADRIA.

he name EI 1 3 1 1 J I i . or more precisely

that o r Catalan c he f F er ra n AJriil, is ,I

Ihing legend ill international culinary circles.

'0111(' would say 1](' is the most inllucnriulu nci im aginative chef alive; others m ilY find

hi s r ad ic al a pp ro ac h to gourmet food ,1 'li(1le

too much to sw allow .

BL!t lo r a ny on e with an active interest in

modem cuisine, .1 \ isil In th e 3-Slar i\ 1 ichelin

E I B ulli rcstnu rant nea r B arcelona is ~I 1\,lc( 'ca-

like once in a lil-( 'L im c experience. The bad

n ews IS th at e ven Ir cosl a nd d isr an ('I.; are not

enough 10 pu t you off. Ihere is the issue of

s( ' (uring it reserva tion. L ast year the restau -

rant received over 30U.000 table requests hUl

w as able to honour onl; . eight thousu nd .

U nu l recently the r oo d o r E I H ilil i, w i th ir s

_~O-p lu~ course la,{ing menus and dishes .I~

weird as [oic gril~ iC l' C r e, 1 Il 1 a nd rern pu ra o rruSt' petals. W,l~Ihe reserve u nl} u f those lor-

umu te enough to visit the restu u rum itself,

lo dn y h ow e ve r, rho e 0]' LIS w i th in s tr ik in g

distance of '(,\11Ie can \ isit LI hotel of exqui-

sire charm where Adria's dishes are recreated

(0 perfection.The hotel is l lac iendn Ik 11il/UZI1,

rchranded in 20()2 as E l Rulli Ilotel

H acianda Benazuza \, hell Al:ria took river ils

management. Long regarded < l . : . one olt he

finest hotels ill Spain, till' Hacienda dates

back to \ loorish limes < I nd has P ,l sed

th rough the hands of 1" 0 ralty and nobility

over the cvntu ric-, laking its nam e hom th e

Counts o r BeIlOl/Uz,,_ Originally opened as II

Iu.\tJt:-' hotc] ill 1 QQ 2. th e property has been

immucu kltdr maintained and todny modern

l'( lm forts blend w ith a ncien: a rrhitecinrc.

original antiqu es anu 1 1I~ h M o or ish-

Andal LIS ian g < l rclrn s,

The ambience 01 the hOld is at once

exclusiv t' bUI somehow cqulllI~ rcla_wd,

[)('spil ' th e gnmckur and opulence o r the ~ ~

I l Xl PATRICKSTUART

P HO T0 5 P AU L B ER N HARD T

Oome [I. Bulli ou, melhor dizendo, 0

do chef cstalao Fer ran Ad ria . e uma

lend a viva nos crcu los qastrcnornkos lntcrna

donais. f f a quem diga q ue ele e 0m a ls in llu en re ei m aq ln au v o c he f VIVO , e q ue m c on sld cre Q ue 11 su a

a bo rd ag em r ad ic al a g a st ro nom ia g ou rm e t e um

bocado d lr ic il d e e ng o li !.

Mas , para a lo ue rn q u e s e in te re ss e verdadeira·

mente p ela g a str on om ia r no de rn a, u m a vistra ao

restau ran t E I Buill, de (res estretas no gU ia

Michel in , em Barcelona, e um a e xp e ri en oa 1 1 n i e - 3

na V ida . A s mas notkias sa o que mesmo que 0

p reco e a dlstflOcia IlaO sela rn sufklerues p ar a n os

f a z e r c es is iir a if ld a t er no s 0 problema ddS reser-

va s, Du ren te 0a no oasseco,o r ests u ra nte r cccceu

m ats de 300 000 pedidos de reserve de mesa mas

a pen as co nseg uiu g ara ntir oito m il.

A te h a pouco tempo a c om id a d o E I B u Iii. co rn

a s seu s menus de d eg usta ~a o d e m as d e u in ta

p ra ms, ra o esrrenh os c om o g ela do de fo ie g ra s e

rem ou ra de oeta la s d e rosa . e steva m a penas ....



~ .. . su rrou nd : ng~ there is no a ir of F o r ! T 1 f l i ity.

T he staFf are discreet, pol ill' a rid ju s I r riend-iI' enough. N obody seems to be hurrying,

something p ro ba bly o w ed to the Fact that theh o t e l has one of the highest staff to guest

ratios of any hotel in Europe w ith just 44

rooms a nd over I 00 sta If

The sra lf themselves a re mostly loca l

Anda iu cia n s, t he majority olw horn have long

served at the hotel under its previous man-

agernent. Bu t it is the young blood, hand-

picked h y Adri~ and shipped in directly

from Catalonia w here they served w ith him

at EI Bulli w ho are propelling the hotel to

new hllights Resident manager Danie l

Busturia, executive chef I~afael M oralesand head sommelier Rut Cotroneo embody

the EI Rulli philosophv of perfectionism,

crealiv. i ty and (he desire no t only to please

b u t surprise.

W hat Adria has set our to do is La c:1rIY

,hi. concept that has made him Famous in

th e resta ura nt w or ld th ro ug h [0 a hotel. w ith

Hacienda Benazuza being the beginning o rE I B u lli Hotels & Resorts. Derails such as

canopied beds under the palm trees in the

g ar d en s a n d < In u rn az i n g b re ak fa st c on si st in g

of ten courses served to the table set

Hacienda Benazuza apart as a hotel, But

a rguably the m ain attraction today is the

cha nce to experience E I B ulli cu isin e,

Execulive chef' Rafael M urales w as one

ofLhc head cooks at 121Bulli w here he w orked

alongside Ad ri i' l for six years. H is brief For

U 1 C h ac ie nd a 's g nu rm ('t r es ta u ra nt L a Alque-

ria was <I S sim ple as iL W<lS cha lleng ing : ,.,.

EssentialGourm

,.,. re serv ad os p ar a O S p o uc os a to n un a do s qu e

p ud es se rn ir a o re~taL i rante .Mas ho je, no entan to ,

quem estiver pella de Se vi lh a, poder a des lo ca r- se

a urn hotel de requlorado cha rms no qual os

prates d e A dria sa o recria do s n a perfeiQio.

Este hotel e o Hac ienda BenaZUl il . r ebap tl za -

d o, em 20 02. q ua nd o Adr ia s e t or nou r es pons avel

pela su a gestae , co m a nom e de £1 B u lli Holel

Hac ienda BenazuZiJ. H a rnuito considerado c omo

u m dos rnelhores hOlels escenhels, 0 Hacienda,

rujo nom e vern d os Condes de Benazuza.da ta da

epocs dos M o uros e. a o lo ng o d os se cu lo s, p as so u

p ela s rn ao s d a r ea leza e d a n obr eza .ln au gu ra do

em 19 92 com o hote l de lu xo , tem sldo esc ru pu -

l osamente mantldo e, haj l '" em d la os con lo rt os d a

era modema conjugam-se com a arquitectura

a nt ig a, a s a nt ig uid ad es g en uin <ls e a s lu xu ria nt es

j a rd ins mou ris co s. ~ ,.



.i. nIiIlOn.L~1 11+.lf ir III'N()II";\' tn ron rnrm OI~~"r!'1" 1.\1) rFHUF'< 1~UIVK'<,

.... 10 replicate l h - ' [arnous eli hes of E I

Bu lli. T he u nnsiu on From a cia ical gourmet

restaurant W roday's ga stron om ica lly cha l-

le ng in g e ater y didn't happen overnight

though, Tasting menus wert' slo w ly intro -

duced and lillie hy liu lc the entire menu

was t rans lor rncd.

1\101 surprisingly, I1lJny o f [ he r es tn u rn nt 's

longst mu ing ciiems sh unncd the lI1ot/a-

11isIIIO that w as laking vcr their lavourite

restau rant a nd have since [a llen by th e way .

Bu t as w ord got ou t thaI E I Bu lli \\I, sin town.

the: rcstuurunt 'mel the hotel established a

w hole new market and recognition soon fol-

lowed wi th the awa rd o r on e 1\ lkhul in star .

Diners at La Alqucria can O pl fDr eirher a

la carte or the Lasling menu bu t w hile all

dishes lire Adl'i~':; creatiuns, i t is the laucr

tha t provides F(11 ' taste o r \Iha l it is at tunlly

like 10 eat at EI Bulli: meal at El Bull i IlSl'if.

unless by sp ec ia l a rr •mgcrncru. w ou ld c on sist

of the 30-plus lasting m enu rna le lip ..~

.i. I~U.ClITIVl CII "I IHF'\l1. ~IOII.'I..~S,

< II '1,\jIc. Ill' 1'11.~lS 1ll\\U!O\,ER'IIIE INNEIICOL'IIIUlIIl .

... . 0 rnb ien te d o h ote l e , p ar u rn lado, selecto

m as, p or o utre. a v or ua ce . A pe sa r da grandios i -

d ade e opu lencia das suas lnstalacces na o 5 1 . "

senre no e r nenhum tipo de rerma l isma. O s fun-

conarlos sao dscretos , bem-ecucados e simpati-

co s q ua nta b aste. Ninguem p arece to r p ressa o

Que ta lvez se deva a o fa no de a hotel apresentar

ur n do s rnais al tos ratios f unc ionar ios lh6spedes

d a E urop a, co m 44 qu a rt os pa ra 1OD fu n ci oo a ri os ,

Os f unc to na r ic s sa o quase to o s a nd elu ze s I" a

g ra nd e m aioria ja vem de anter io res admin15 -

rracoes M as If : 0 s an qu e j ov em , p es so alr ne nte

recrurado pa r Ferran A d r i a na Cata lunha, o nd e (r a-

b alh ar ar n s ob a s sua, om ens no EI B uill, que tem

impuls ionado 0 hotel a r na is altos voos . 0 ger en te

residenle Da nipl B usru ria o c hef eX PC l![IVa Rafael

M ora les e n primeira esca ncao R ut Cotroneo

toc orp ora rn a m osofia p erfec donista d o EI Bulli,a

crial iv idade eo deseio na o >0 de agradar , como

t ar ober n de su rp reender ,

o q ue Ferra n A dria se p rop os Ia zer fO i imple-

rnentar 0 conce i to Que 0 tornou farnoso no

rnundo da gastronom ia a traves de U rn hotel.

sendo 0 Hacienda Benazuza a inic io do EI Bullillotels & Reso rt s . Po r rnenores c omo cam as de

d as se l s ob as pa l rne l res do s jardins o u rn soberbo

peqcenc-alrroco de del p ra te s s er vc o a mesa,

fazem do Hacienda Ben a zu z a u r n r nu n do a parte

em term os de hotela ria , M as a su a m aier a rac<;: l io

ta lv ez seja a o po rtu nia ad e d e p ro va r a gasrrono-

rnia E I Bul l i .o c he f e xec u tl vo Rafael M ora les foi um cos

c oz in he ir os c he fe no E I B ulli. ond e rraba lhou

co m Ad ri a o ur ar ue sets a no s, A s m s tr uc oe s que

recebeu qu ando tornou coma do resrau rante

gourmet d o H a cie nd a, 0 La A lqu a ri a, fo rilm ta o

s im ples c om o d esa fia nres; rep lic ar os fa rnoso s

prates d o FI Bu ll" No entanto, esta t ransforrnacso

d e r es ra u ra nt e oassco em local gaslronomlC<l-

mente p rovocad or na o a cont ceu de urn d ia

oara ooutro .....



•• erulr ly uf dishes crea leu during the

current year. At La Alqueria on Lilt' other

h a n d , the m e n u is m ade Lip I < 1 selection t i l '

E1Bulli's most famous dishes , each one with

it s d ate 0 1 ' creation alongside the menu

description and spanning the last ten years

u p to 2003,

Man ) o r these dishes , such as deep Fr ied

rabbi t ca r with r om ar ic h er bs , a re Iittle more

t h a n a ing l m ou thfu l: others uch as

omelet . u rpri e f f ie gr s sand arti 'hoke

(tepid mouss of Fnk ~Tns 'O\' ring un a rti-

choke sorbet) 'Ire more s uh st . . n tia l, \'\!orkil\g

through lht : menu i~ a sen so ry ex tr av ag an za

I n s l illg Q t least th r c c ho u r s O nc c lih tha t

resem bles lagl' la te 1 1( ' tra n s p i res to he lash-

ion~d not [rom P;1S[:l but Irom veal ge lat in

s p e d 8 1 1 y treated so as not to melt when

w arm ed. noihcr arrives at Lhe t a b l e appear-

i llg L O he a t i l l of" lrnnian cavia r bu t. tam pednver with the text "irnitauon IBulli". This is

i n f a l. m a ll h al l . of w a t e r melon ju ice mag-

ica lly t ra ns fo rm ed t o look and feci like cav iar

hut burst ing ill the mouth wilh the sweeL·

n e s s o r th e r r L l i[,

Adri~ 's ingenious cu l inm)' creations have

o fLen b e e n dubbed as a l c h e m y (['rom which

L a Alqueria restaurant takes its name) but

behind the cene in the kitchen it is as

much about ience as it is magic. he r

~ lo ra k'S p re sid es o ve r h is team with a cool

a n d corn rns nd ing demeanor, lcndinz h i s

hand here and there L O perfect presentation,

In on e cor ner , gia nt test II I bes ar e suspended

above a bow l oj' [iquid solution w here L11C

water melon juice is turner] into "caviar": in

a no th er , a d is h is prepared w ith Adria's nato-

d eu s " ro o m " , In aera ted sau ce m ade w ith 1\

nitrous oxide siphon (as used F or w hi pp ed

c re am ). T his hiler technique ha s been

w i d e l y mimicked, along with many o r Adria'sother creation, b y ch efs a ll ov 'f the world

Bu t I V h a L to drink w uh su ch wclrd an d

w o n d e r f u l food? W ith II variety o r [lavour

a n d tex tures making up the tasting menu,

t h e t a sk of S0I11111e Iier is not I (0 be r a kc n

liently . E nter Rut Cotroneo, one of the Few

female scrnrnellers in Spainl r lavi Ilg previ-

ously w orked as a sommelier at El Bull i

3nd som e of Madrid ' top res taurant ' , Ru t is

m o r e than familiar with the food an d

endeav r t man) rh rn nu w ith modern

pani h w ines and u lTers a degus ta tion

served b y the g la ss to accom pnny the 3 0 o r

so courses.

A ll in all. .1 mCHI ~1lLa Alquena is some-

Ihing that only those w id, a penchan t forg o u r m et f o n d a n d a slig htly a dv en tu ro us s pir-

it will t ruly enjuy, For those not inclined to

i n c l u l ! 7 c in s u c h gastronom ic endeavors how -

ever, there is n 1 1 'e d fo r d csp s lr . The pool-

ide A lb r a r staurant s rves lun h with

C h e f l \ 'lol 'al 5'S o wn ln te rp re ta tic ns 01'

Andalucian F ar e a nd LH Aba arfa serves ... .

EssentialGounnet

.. .. O s m en us d e d eg usta ~o fo ra rn s en do in rro du

z id o s p o u eo a p o u eo a te a t ot al a h er a ca o d aeme nr a

C la ro qu e m uitos dos dentes r nz i s fi t~ is d o

r es r au r a n r e f ic a ram c ho ca d os c om 0mode r ru smo

q u e e sta va a ln ve dlr 0 s eu r es ta u ra n te p rc fe ri do e

forarn-no a ba nd ona nd o. Con tud o, dep ressa se

espalhou a no tic ia de q ue 0E I Bul l i tinha a berto e

o res ta ura nte e 0 h otel fo ra m e sta be lec en do u m

novo rnercad o, a qu e rapidamente s e s eg u iu a

a tr ib u it ;iio d e u m a estrela d o M k h elin .

Os co rn ensa ts do La A lq u er ia p o de m opta r

p e la ement a a ca rra ou pelo m enu de dequstacao

m as, co mo to do s o s p r at es sa o cnacoes d e A dria ,

e ele q ue m d ec id e a qu e 5 e ir a c o nfe cc io n ar . Uma

refeic; :ao no p ro pr io E I B ulli, e xc ep tu an do a lg um

a cord o esp ec la l.c ons lsre d e u m m en u d e d eg us-

tacao de mals d e 3 0 p ra tes, tod os eles cr iados

durante esse ano . P or ou tre la do , no A lqu er la , a

em en ta c ornp oe-se d e um a s ele o; o3 o d o s p r at es

rnais famosos do EI Buil l , carla urn deles com a

da a de c r ia t; ao jun to da desc r ic ao do menue qu e

oa ta rn d os u llim os d ec e no s a r e 2003 .

Mu i t os d es tes p rams, c omo a o re lh a d e roe-

lho fr ita c om erva s a rom atk as, sa o apenas u ma

pequena do se n ao maior qu e u ma colherada;out-

lOS, c omo a o rn eleta su rp resa d e fo le g ras e a ka

c ho fr a s (mou s se lepida de fOle q ra s sob re sorve re

de a l cacho fra ) sao rna is 5ubs lanc ia is. lr avany1ndo

no menu e uma ex travaganc ia sensonal que dura

pelo menos t re s h or as . Diz-se qu e um ora 0 pare-

c id o (o m ta glia te lle n ao e r nassa m as s im g e l( l i-

na de v e ado e s pec la lment e tratada pa ra n ao d er -

reter q ua nd o a qu ed da . D utro vem a me sa c om o

u m a ta <;ade caviar l r a rnano , com 0 c ar im b o " im i -

[0<;030 elBull i" , ma s, d e fa ct o, sa o b olln ha s d e su m o

de m elanc ls con fecc ionadas, com o que pa r

magla , para se p arecerern com cav iar , mas qu e

exptodem na boca com a d ocu ra da ru ta .••





EssentialGourmet

BAI'JlhLMORAl S ANI} IllS TEM1 ,IT WORKIN · " , L

KrrClI~.N 1\T Meu. 'IlIA DEN\Zl!'l.I \NO \ SEU:, 11'"

or EL I'~UI DI'>II""-

~~ traditiona l local tnpas of outstanding

qu ality . A nd f(lr a ficton ados of A nda lu cia 'sfabulous jamon pa ta negro (cu red ham ' Lh~'

h ou ..! em ploy s one of pain 's top "cortadores

cit' ja rnon" (ham cu tters). A fter all, there's

nothing like a plate of p:lla negra and a glass

of chilled fino to remind us that. despite the

I l loaernismos of A driil's food, WI! fire most

dclirurely in Illl'heart o f ,\nJulcw .•



. .. . A s engenho>3 s a ia <;6es cul inarias d e A d ria jil

tern sldo consideradas alqu imia (de onde 0 L a

A lq ue ria r ei ir a 0 nom e), m as nos b astld ores na

c ozin ha tr ata -se m a is d e c ien cia d o q ue d e m ag ia .

a chef M ora les corna nd a a su a. e ou ip a d e form a

c alm a e va l d a nd o 0seu toque pa ra aperfekoer a

apresentacao. N u rn d os c an to s, g ig an te sc os tu ba s

de ensaio estao su sp enso> sa bre u rns ra ca com

u rn Ir q u id o o nd e a sumo de melanc ia se r rans for-

r na em "c avia r". N um D utro , p rep ar a-S € u rn prate

c om a fa m os a " es pu rn a" de A dr ia , u rn m o lh o g as ei-

fica do reno com u rn 5 ifiio d e g as ca rbc rucc (como

a s u sa do s p ar a b at er n ata sj.E st a t ec nlc e.t el c om o

mui tas outras cria<;oes de Adr ia , tern sldo amp l a -

mente copiada pa r chefes de todo a mundo.

Mas , com que bebida acompanhar ta o

es t ranha e m aravilhosa com ida? Com um a va r-

iedade de sabores e tsxturas do nive l do m enu de

degus ta~ao. a tarefa do escancao neo deve se r

e nc ar ad a c om l ev iandade . E al entia R1.,IlCotroneo.

uma das pou ca s m ulher es €scanr;ao em E sp an h al

Tendo ja t ra ba lh ad o c om o escancao no EI B u lti e

na lquns dos m ais im portantes resrau rantes

m a d ri le no s, R u t e st a b a sr a nr e fami l ia r izada com a

c om id a e a co rn pa nh a 0 menu c om v in ho s e sp a-

n ho ls m o d er n OS, o fe re ce nd o u m a d eg us ta .r ;a o" acop o' p ara os 3 0 a u m ais p ra tes serv ld os,

Resumindo, um a refei~o no La A lquer ia ea lga que £6 as inrerassados em com ida gou r-

m et com espu lto avem ureiro poderao aprecar

\ \ 1 \ 1 ' ' 1 1~ s s ! m i i l l · . lg d r Y ~ (O m 14

d evid am ente. M as , q uem nao es te ia ind ira do

pa ra estes ev entv ra s ga stron6 mica s, na o deve

d es es pe ra r. Ju nr o d a pisc ina 0re stau ran re A lbe rca

s er ve e lr no co s c on fe cc io na do s p elo c he f M o ra le s

segundo as suas tnterpretacoes m u ito p ro prla s d a

(ozinha a nd alu za , e 0 La Ab ac aria serve ta pa s

tr ad ic io na is d e s ob er ba q ua fid ad e. E . p ara a s a fi-

cionados do fa bu lo so p resu nto Pala Negra

a nd alu z.o h otel u tiliza u m d os m a is lm po rten tes

c or ta do re s d e p re su nr o e sp an h6 is . P or q u e, n o fimde contas, nada com o u rn p ra te de P at a N eg ra 0'

u rn ca po d e fino g ela do p ara na o nos fa zer esq ue-

cer q ue, a pesa r d os m od em ism os da cornida de

A dr ia " e sr ar no s n o cora~ao da Anda !uz ia .1

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Essential | Octubre-Noviembre 2004