The Ferran Adrià effect. Turning wine into water

The following is an excerpt from my new story, “Eating Galicia: stalking the wild tapas of Santiago de Copmostesla” to read the full story follow this LINK

“When Ferran Adrià speaks…the food world perks up its collective ears, clears its palate and pays close attention to this enthusiastic man who many have labeled as the best chef in the world. Ferran’s “Molecular Gastronomy” breaks down food to its essence and then rebuilds it into any form. The creator of culinary foam, he turns apples into caviar and given the urge could surely transform a grilled cheese sandwich into an asparagus. He entered the auditorium like a rock star. We were food people and he was our Messiah, a mass of cameras surrounded him (myself included).  It was quiet when he spoke. His words would be repeated over time like the gospel at food temples around the planet. During a multimedia presentation he showed us some of his fascinating cooking techniques. Each new creation was unique, whole new species of food emerged. It was miraculous, Ferran could turn water into wine

The problem with the words of the Gods are that they are often not taken as the metaphor lessons as they were intended. They are internalized self interpreted and re-preached as absolute truths. He has shown the cooking world that our limitations are self-imposed. That anything is possible. I am a huge fan, but to paraphrase Jeff Goldblum in “Jurassic Park” ” just because you can does not mean that you should”.  Ferran is a true abstract artist, unrestrained by convention, but his food is like an edgy fashion show, fun to look at, it makes you think, but if you wore it to work you would look ridiculous. His creations escaped from his laboratory, and when let lose on an impressionable world, spawned many little copycat monsters. My concern is that when taken to far, the Ferran effect is in fact turning wine into water. Traditional cooking in Spain is a glorious thing; perfect food created by the world’s real greatest chef, Mother Earth. He is closing his famous restaurant el Bulli in two years, has been appointed a tourism ambassador , and commented for a need to return to traditional foods. Thank you holy one. It is exactly what I had come to Galicia to do.”