It starts with the sheer drama of the seven-kilometre drive from Roses along a winding track, where bay after aquamarine bay is revealed at almost every turn. On arrival, fizzingly refreshing cocktails of passion-fruit vodka with a swirl of grenadine and a float of carrot sorbet are served on the terrace. There follows a selection of what are called, with more than a hint of irony, snacks. Slivers of caramelised jamon, grilled quinoa grains in laced rice-paper, freeze-dried chards of foie gras with tamarind, all accompanied by fine Manzanilla sherry served in elegant, frosted glasses. And that’s just the start—the standard menu at El Bulli consists of around 30 courses, and costs about €250 per head.
The restaurant’s origins go back to a Sixties beach bar started by a German couple, Hans and Marketta Schilling, at Cala Montjoi near Roses. They later added a grill-room, which they called El Bulli after their pet bull-terrier. Hans was a gourmet who travelled widely, always returning with adventurous new ideas. El Bulli grew from strength to strength and in 1975 it was awarded the first of its three Michelin stars.
Anecdotes from the early years abound. Captain Moore, a contemporary of Salvador Dalí, would arrive unannounced at Cala Montjoi aboard his yacht with a significant entourage. There was no jetty for mooring and so a hundred metres off the beach, the captain would stand on the yacht’s foredeck with a megaphone instructing the chef on numbers and gastronomic preferences. They would drop anchor and by the time the group had been ferried ashore in a dinghy, the canapés and martinis were waiting.
Nowadays, unfortunately, such an approach would not get one a table. The current owners are Ferran Adrià and Juli Soler, who have created its international success, and resulting clamour for a reservation. They both came to El Bulli at the start of the Eighties; Soler was the manager of the restaurant, while Adrià worked his way up from chef to head of the kitchen. In 1990, the two men became co-owners of the business.
A visit today to the kitchens at El Bulli is a truly jaw-dropping experience. Imagine a group of 50 (yes, 50) chefs all purposefully hunched over their stainless-steel work stations. There is a buzz of energy, but beneath that there is a palpable air of intense concentration. With their use of incongruous equipment like nitrogen foam jets, mixing palettes and scalpels, it’s a fusion of operating theatre, science laboratory and art studio. There are no histrionics or prima donnas. Just a total focus on the task at hand.
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