Albert Adria is one of the most unique chefs in the world of gastronomy. Throughout his career, he has worked wonders at elBulli and Tickets, as well as working with names like Christian Escriba, Guy Savoy, and top restaurants like Mugaritz and The Fat Duck. The Spanish chef will reopen his iconic restaurant, Enigma. We came together for our new issue with the award-winning chef, who is focused on Enigma with all his strength these days.
In March 1985, the life of award-winning Spanish chef Albert Adria begins to take another direction. Adria, who is not on good terms with school, ends up in elBulli, where her brother Ferran was at the head of those days. In a sense, this story begins out of necessity and begins the journey of one of the world’s most creative chefs.
At the point it has reached today, Adria is one of the most unique characters of the gastronomy world. Stating that he used to find himself more creative, Adria said, “For creativity, it is necessary to follow all the trends and the world intensively. I feel that I no longer have the strength to devote myself so intensely. “Although me and my team always do our part, I think the time has come for the youth.”
Another element underlying Adria’s creativity is his ability to think broadly by removing borders. Emphasizing that obsessing over styles in gastronomy hinders creativity, the chef said that emphasizing on styles and having a style that can be combined with any style adds new colors to the chart. When experience is added to this style, a world-class chef is born.
“One can learn from failure, not from success”
Albert Adria’s life is a picture of success by judging failures. The award-winning chef says that he never thought of being successful in his career, but always focused on the possibility of failure. “One can learn from failure, not from success. Therefore, in each of my projects, I focused on fixing what could go wrong. And that brought success.”
Adria, who is an undeniable fact that he was an extraordinary chef, says that when he looks back, he sees a happy life. “Although I could not have a profession and had to enter the kitchen, I have turned into a completely different person over the years in the kitchen. So I am very happy and still very eager to do something.
It’s Back Again: Enigma
The Spanish chef recently reopened the doors of his iconic restaurant, Enigma. Underlining that he has no doubt that the venue, which was prepared with the theme of “fun-dining”, is progressing in a wonderful way, Adria says: “It is the first restaurant that belongs to me completely. It’s also the only restaurant I currently work at. That’s why I channeled it here with all my might.”
All the places that Adria has touched so far have become iconic. At this point, the Spanish chef states that in order to create a brand, first of all, good food and a friendly service are needed, and adds that success lies in the details. According to the chef, who underlined that professionalism will never be lost, the secret of success is exactly here.
New Projects On The Way
In the past months, Adria had realized a pop-up project in Paris with the famous chef Alain Ducasse. Saying that he loves such projects, the Spanish chef adds that although they are beautiful, it is very difficult to reveal these projects. “That project coincided with a time when we were both closing our restaurants, but now it is very difficult.” Stating that he will open a new cafe and burger restaurant in September, Adria also says that they will carry out some projects with his brother Ferran Adria in elBulli. Adria brothers will work in elbow contact in the kitchen in these projects whose timing is not certain.