“Nowadays, many restaurants have creative workshops, but that doesn't mean they are truly creative. Innovation is complex because there are no limits: you achieve a result and then immediately move on to the next step. It can be very exhausting.”
Cover photo by @Peposegurafotografia
The journey of a “silent” genius
When, at just 16 years old, he joined Ferran at elBulli, ambition was not his main motivation. The reality was much simpler, almost prosaic. “It wasn't the cooking that interested me, but the location and the chance to live by the sea,” Albert Adrià confesses today to 50 Best. “In my mind, the price I had to pay to live there was having to work in the kitchen. I didn't really care whether I was a chef or a gardener.” But the story, as often happens, took a different turn. Adrià quickly specialized in pastry making, a field that revolutionized his approach to food. According to him, unlike chefs who start with an ingredient and risk “destroying” it with too much manipulation, pastry chefs start with a blank canvas.
It was from this perspective that the avant-garde techniques that made El Bulli famous, such as spherification, were born. Ferran became the public face of the restaurant, while Albert preferred to remain behind the scenes: “My brother paid me to be creative in the laboratory, and I didn't have time to talk to the press. I wanted to go unnoticed and devote all my time to creation.”
The recipe for true creativity: why Albert Adrià embraces mistakes and moves away from the past
Winner of the prestigious Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award 2025, Albert Adrià has finally freed himself from the cumbersome shadow of his brother Ferran. Today, his fame is no longer linked solely to elBulli. His restaurants, particularly Tickets and Enigma, have demonstrated his independence and audacity. Winning the Chefs' Choice Award 2025, voted for by his peers, is definitive proof of his impact. “I spent so many years being told that I was just Ferran's brother or just the pastry chef at El Bulli,” says Adrià. “Winning is exciting for me. It makes me want to keep improving and keep offering more.”
The secret to this inexhaustible creative drive lies in his willingness to accept failure. At Enigma, which he describes as his restaurant “least like El Bulli,” failure is not an option, but a process. Adrià notes with concern that the modern culinary landscape has lost some of this courage. “Nowadays, many restaurants have creative laboratories, but that doesn't mean they are truly creative. Innovating is complex because there are no limits: you achieve a result and then immediately move on to the next step. It can be very exhausting.”
The reality is that creativity has lost its value today," he argues. The exceptions are figures such as Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz and René Redzepi, who have remained true to their vision. After all, innovation requires a great deal of commitment: “The work I did at El Bulli required a high level of concentration 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, because ideas flow and emerge when and where you least expect them.” For the next five years, his philosophy remains the same: push forward, innovate, don't look back. But then, his gaze turns to a quieter horizon. After revolutionizing gastronomy, Albert Adrià dreams of a simpler life. “I want to give my all for the next five years. After that, you'll only find me walking my dog.”
