| 1961-1982 | 1983-1986 | 1987-1993 | 1994-1997 | 1998-2002 | 2003-2005 | 2006-2008 | 2009-2011 | 2009-2011 |
the period that mapped our future
|
1996. Support from Robuchon, a vital factor in our career.
It is no secret that Joël Robuchon is one of the great names in cooking in the last twenty years, and that his
opinion carries great weight in the world of gastronomy. So when in an interview he gave in 1996 he named Ferran Adrià his “heir” and said that he
was the best chef in the world (an opinion he had already hinted at in 1994), he undeniably attracted the gaze of all critics and gourmets to elBulli.
Four years previously, one day in the summer of 1992, Robuchon was due to come to have a meal at elBulli. For the three or four days beforehand we were
really on tenterhooks, a feeling that not only stayed with us when he arrived, but also increased when he told us he could only have a quick meal as
he had to go to Perpignan to catch the High Speed Train. Obviously we had planned the full menu, and were slightly disappointed to think that we had to
shorten it. To our surprise, halfway through the meal he told us that he did not mind missing the train and that he wanted to eat the full meal.
Thus began the story of the relationship between Robuchon and elBulli. |
Joel Robuchon flanked by Juan Mari Arzak, Antoine Hernández, Rafael García Santos and Ferran Adrià. |
