The Sorcerer's Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adria's elBulli - Hardcover

Abend, Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1439175551 ISBN 13: 9781439175552

Publisher: Free Pr, 2011

Synopsis

WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES AT ELBULLI?

Elected best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine an unprecedented five times, elBulli is where chef Ferran Adrią’s remarkable cuisine comes to life—with dragon cocktails that make the drinker breathe smoke and caviar made from tiny spheres of olive oil. elBulli is also the object of culinary pilgrimage—millions clamor every year for a reservation at one of its tables.

Yet few people know that, behind each of the thirtyor more courses that make up a meal at elBulli, a small army of stagiaires—apprentice chefs—labor at the precise, exhausting work of executing Adrią’s astonishing vision. In The Sorcerer’s Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchenat Ferran Adrią’s elBulli, Lisa Abend explores the remarkable system that AdriĄ uses to run his restaurant and, in the process, train the next generation of culinary stars.

Granted more access to Adrią and the elBulli kitchen than any other writer in the restaurant’s history, Abend follows thirty-five young men and women as they struggle to master the cutting-edge techniques, grueling hours, furious creativity, and interpersonal tensions that come with working at this celebrated institution. Her lively narrative captures a great cast, including a young Korean cook who camps on the doorstep of elBulli until he is allowed to work in the kitchen; an ambitious chef from one of Switzerland’s top restaurants struggling to create his own artistic vision of cuisine; and an American couple whose relationship may not withstand the unique pressures of the restaurant. What emerges is an irresistible tale of aspiring young talents caught, for good or ill, in the opportunity of a lifetime.

Taken together, their stories form a portrait of the international team that helps make a meal at elBulli so memorable. They also reveal a Ferran Adrią few ever see, one who is not only a genius chef and artist but also a boss, teacher, taskmaster, businessman, and sometimes- flawed human being. Today, food has become the focus of unprecedented attention, and The Sorcerer’s Apprentices also explores the strange evolution—in less than two decades—of a once-maligned profession into a source of celebrity.

About this title

Review:

"Abend is finding qualities in each young cook that reflect, amplify, and illuminate who Adrią is and what he's doing at elBulli--crossing and even demolishing the lines between food and art. Anyone interested in the very vanguard of creativity in any medium, aside from the ever-growing ranks of foodies and celebrity-chef watchers, is certain to be enchanted." --"Booklist", starred review

"Part Dali, part Einstein, part modern-day Escoffier--superchef Ferran Adrią of elBulli is one of the greatest creative minds of our time. Now Lisa Abend reveals what it's like to actually work in this genius's kitchen. Her formidable reportage, astute cultural observations, and keen eye for detail have produced a fascinating chronicle of the life-changing adventure undertaken by elBulli's lucky band of kitchen apprentices."

--Anya von Bremzen, author of "The New Spanish Table"

"The author provides countless descriptions of an undeniably dazzling creative process and of foods that, even on paper, have the power to delight and amuse.

A gastronomical feast and a rare chance for gourmet enthusiasts to witness the creative process behind some of the world's most innovative cuisine." --"Kirkus"

"Lisa Abend's new book reads like Harry Potteresque version of a cook's story and gives readers the chance to enter themselves into the hidden world of cooks. Through Lisa's book, readers can join these young people on their quest to become a chef witnessing the dreams and aspirations, the frustrations and successes, and all the drama that unfolds along the way."

-- José Andr&eacutes, Chef of Cafe Atlantico and The Bazaar, and star of the PBS show "Made in Spain"

""The Sorcerer's Apprentices" is a fascinating, well-reported, and dramatic account of life behind the lines at the world's most renowned restaurant, elBulli. Unimpeded by the language barrier that has prevented English-speaking journalists from conveying a full, clear picture of Ferran Adrią, Abend gives a sense of what his extraordinary, ground-breaking kitchen is actually like on the inside, from the vantage of the cooks. This is a worthy addition to the literature of the professional kitchen and a pleasure to read."

--Michael Ruhlman, author of "Ratio" and"""The Making of a Chef "

"An insightful depiction not only of the most talked-about restaurant in the world, but also of Ferran Adria and a squad of young cooks who have come to him in their quest for culinary knowledge. As THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE unspools, a profound and irresistible theme emerges: any cook worth his or her salt, even a certified genius like Adria, never stops learning."

--Andrew Friedman, author of "Knives at Dawn"""

"Over the course of the last 25 years, Ferran Adrią has become both icon and iconoclast, an international bellwether for the future of food. In "The Sorcerer's Apprentice, " Lisa Abend gives us an illuminating new look at the most influential chef of our time through the kaleidoscopic lens of his thirty-five stagiaires. An accomplished journalist and agile storyteller, Abend immerses herself in the heat, the anxiety, and the ingenuity of this pressurized little world, bringing the characters--and the kitchen--to life. It's a fascinating glimpse into a culinary rite of passage, and the incomparable genius behind it."

--Dan Barber, Executive Chef and Co-owner of Blue Hill Farm

"A last glimpse inside the culinary magic."

--"Entertainment Weekly"

"Anyone interested in the very vanguard of creativity in any medium, aside from the ever-growing ranks of foodies and celebrity-chef watchers, is certain to be enchanted."

--"Booklist" (starred review)

About the Author:

Lisa Abend is a journalist based in Madrid. Since 2005, she has been Time magazine's correspondent in Spain. She also contributes to a number of newspapers and magazines, including The Atlantic, The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Nation, Saveur, Wired, The Economist, and Slate.

About this edition

• Publisher: Free Pr
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1439175551
• ISBN 13: 9781439175552
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 295