50 Days By Albert Adrià: Who is this Spanish chef and why is his London residency is worth getting excited about?

Albert is not the best known Adrià to come out of el Bulli, but that might not be the case for long
Coming to the capital: Albert Adrià
Ben Norum2 December 2015

February will see the arrival of Michelin-starred Spanish chef Albert Adrià in London as he kicks off a 50 day residency at Regent Street’s grand Hotel Café Royal.

Tickets — which are expected to be snapped up fast — will cost a steep £150 excluding drinks and service.

The experience will include a cocktail in the hotel’s Oscar Wilde bar followed by a tasting menu held in the Domino restaurant. Further details are to be discovered on arrival.

So, just who is this chef and why is his cooking worth it?

Well, while you may not have heard of Albert you almost certainly will know his brother — Ferran Adrià.

Big brother: Ferran Adrià
Phaidon

Ferran ran three Michelin-starred restaurant el Bulli up until its closure (at least in its current guise) in 2011.

At its peak between 2002 and 2009 it was voted the best restaurant in the world a record five times at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards — more than either René Redzepi’s Noma or Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck have managed.

Adrià has time and time again been hailed the greatest chef in the world and has been nicknamed the Salvador Dali­ of the kitchen thanks to his ground-breaking cooking and pioneering molecular gastronomy techniques. You know those foams that often needlessly garnish a dish? We can thank him for those for a start.

But surely Londoners aren’t going to fork out £150 just because of his family ties?

Well, no. Albert might not have quite the international fame that his older brother does but he’s already a very big deal in Spain.

He worked with Ferran at el Bulli for 23 years where he was responsible for creating some of the restaurant’s most famous dishes. While Ferran led the kitchen, he took more of a back office role and was heavily involved in the development side of things.

After el Bulli closed he set his sights on Barcelona where, with backing from his brother, he opened modern tapas bar Tickets, which quickly gained a Michelin star.

Just the ticket: Albert Adrià's cooking at Tickets in Barcelona

In the same neighbourhood of the city, he has since launched his take on an old school tapas bar in the form of Bodega 1900, Pakta that serves Nikkei cuisine which blends Japanese and Peruvian influences, and two-part Mexican restaurant Hoja Santa / Nino Viejo.

The latter two of these three restaurants have also gained Michelin stars, while the chef — who for a long time specialised in pastry at el Bulli — was this year crowned the world’s best pastry chef at the World’s 50 Best awards.

Albert has another Barcelona restaurant, Enigma, lined up for 2016, which given these credentials is likely to be another smash hit.

The best food in London

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Even if the price might feel steep, Londoners willing to fork out should feel lucky that he’s popping by here for a couple of months beforehand.

Rumour has it that once the residency is up, we might even be left with a memento in the form of a permanent venue — we'd be even more lucky if that turns out to be true.

Visit 50daysbyalbertadria.com for more information and to buy tickets for the residency.

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