El Bulli
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Founder | Hans Schilling and Marketa Schilling |
| Defunct | 2011-07-30 |
| Fate | Closed and transformed into El Bulli Foundation |
| Headquarters | Roses , Spain |
Key people | Ferran Adrià, Albert Adrià, Juli Soler, Jean-Louis Neichel |
| Products | Haute cuisine, Molecular gastronomy dishes |
Number of employees | 42 (2008) |
El Bulli () was a dining establishment situated near Roses, Spain, initially overseen by chef Ferran Adrià and subsequently joined by Albert Adrià. Celebrated for its modernist culinary style, it was founded in 1964 with a scenic view of Cala Montjoi on the Costa Brava in Catalonia. Awarded three Michelin stars, El Bulli was hailed in 2006 as "the most inventive source of haute cuisine". The restaurant ceased operations on 30 July 2011 and evolved into the El Bulli Foundation, dedicated to advancing culinary creativity.
Restaurant
El Bulli functioned on a seasonal basis, generally open from mid-June through late December. Bookings for the upcoming year were accepted only on a single day following the conclusion of each season. Although it accommodated approximately 8,000 guests per season, it attracted more than two million reservation requests. The typical dining experience was priced around €250 (US$325). Since the year 2000, the establishment itself operated at a financial loss, with earnings generated primarily through El Bulli-related publications and lectures conducted by Adrià. By April 2008, the culinary team comprised 42 chefs.
Restaurant magazine positioned El Bulli at No. 1 on its Top 50 list five times (2002, 2006–2009) and ranked it No. 2 in 2010, underscoring its preeminent status in haute cuisine worldwide.
History
The site for the restaurant was selected in 1961 by Hans Schilling, a German national, and his Czech spouse Marketa, who were searching for land to develop a holiday resort. By 1963, the resort featured a modest bar known as "El Bulli-bar" or "Hacienda El Bulli," which laid the groundwork for the eventual restaurant. The name "El Bulli" derived from the French bulldogs owned by the Schillings. The inaugural restaurant opened its doors in 1964.
El Bulli received its first Michelin star in 1976 under French chef Jean-Louis Neichel. Ferran Adrià became part of the team in 1984 and assumed full kitchen leadership in 1987. The establishment earned its second Michelin star in 1990 and achieved its third in 1997.
Starting in 1993, El Bulli published various books chronicling its evolution, menu innovations, and culinary philosophy, available in both extensive and compact editions. In 2008, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, and Albert Adrià released A Day at El Bulli, which illustrated a full day at the restaurant through photographs, commentary, and recipes including melon with ham, pine-nut marshmallows, and passion fruit trees.
Chef Anthony Bourdain lauded Albert Adrià's work as an extraordinary portfolio of accomplishments that astonishes pastry chefs around the globe.
Commercial products
Texturas is a product range created by brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià encompassing major categories such as Sferificación, Gelificación, Emulsificación, Espesantes, and Surprises. These items are the result of thorough experimentation and include ingredients like Xanthan and Algin, sold under the names Xantana Texturas and Algin Texturas.
Xanthan gum allows for thickening soups, sauces, and creams with very small amounts without impacting flavor. Algin is a key component of the "Spherification Kit," utilized to produce spheres resembling caviar, raviolis, balloons, gnocchi, pellets, and mini-spheres.
Closure
In 2010, Ferran Adrià revealed his intention to shut down El Bulli by 2012, citing considerable financial setbacks, with plans to transform the site into a culinary academy. He subsequently refined this statement, indicating that the restaurant would temporarily halt operations and resume in 2014 following a two-year break, continuing its food service. Nevertheless, by October 2010, Adrià confirmed that El Bulli would cease operations permanently after July 2011.
By 2011, the restaurant’s official website announced a shift toward establishing a creativity hub set to open in 2014, overseen by a private foundation dedicated to advancing innovation in the culinary arts. The newly formed El Bulli Foundation aspires to function as an incubator for inventive cuisine, inviting not only chefs but also professionals from architecture, philosophy, and design fields to collaboratively exchange insights and methodologies.
In 2021, The Observer acknowledged El Bulli’s closure as one of the top 20 "defining moments in food" over the previous twenty years.
Film
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress is a documentary capturing the restaurant’s continuous creative evolution. Directed by Gereon Wetzel, it documents Ferran Adrià’s team throughout the 2008–2009 season and debuted at the 2010 International Documentary Film Festival.
Exhibition
Between July and September 2013, Somerset House in London presented an exhibition dedicated to Ferran Adrià and El Bulli, focusing on the development of the restaurant’s experimental kitchen and laboratory. The exhibit featured multimedia presentations illustrating the techniques behind iconic dishes, alongside original sketches, handwritten recipe notes, and plasticine models representing dishes served at the restaurant.
Bullinianos
A significant aspect of El Bulli’s heritage is its community of prominent chefs known as Bullinianos, who either trained or conducted research at the establishment. Distinguished members include Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz), José Andrés, Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana), René Redzepi (Noma), Joan Roca and Jordi Roca (El Celler de Can Roca), Eduard Xatruch, Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas (Disfrutar), and Aitor Zabala.
Publications
- El Bulli 1983–1993 (with Juli Soler and Albert Adrià), 2004. includes CD-ROM.
- El Bulli: el sabor del Mediterráneo (with Juli Soler), 1993.
- Los secretos de El Bulli, 1997.
- El Bulli 1994–1997 (with Juli Soler and Albert Adrià), 2003. includes CD-ROM.
- Cocinar en 10 minutos con Ferran Adrià (with Josep M. Pinto), 1998.
- Celebrar el milenio con Arzak y Adrià (with Juan Mari Arzak), 1999.
- El Bulli 1998–2002 (with Juli Soler and Albert Adrià), 2003. includes CD-ROM.
- El Bulli 2003–2004 (with Juli Soler and Albert Adrià), 2006.
- El Bulli 2005 (with Juli Soler and Albert Adrià), 2006. includes CD-ROM.
- A Day At El Bulli 2007 (with Juli Soler and Albert Adrià), 2008.
- FOOD for thought THOUGHT for food (El Bulli y Ferran Adrià), 2009 Actar Editorial.
- Modern Gastronomy A to Z: A Scientific and Gastronomic Lexicon (Alicia Foundation, El Bullitaller), 2010. CRC Press.
- El Bulli 2005–2011 (Ferran Adrià, Albert Adrià, Juli Soler), 2014.
External links
- El Bulli: A Historical Overview 1961–2006 (PDF). El Bulli.com, 2007.
- Leading Spanish Restaurant Claims Top Spot Again. CNN. 24 April 2007.
- Articles with short description
- 1964 establishments in Spain
- 2011 disestablishments in Spain
- Cuisine of Alt Empordà
- Defunct Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain
- Molecular gastronomy
- Restaurants disestablished in 2011
- Restaurants established in 1964
- Restaurants in Catalonia
- Defunct restaurants in Spain
- Defunct companies of Spain