Tag: michelin guide

At Ferran Adrià for an exclusive night: here’s how to do it – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Not only that: guests will be able to take a tour of his museum, accessing spaces not normally open to the public. Over 4 thousand square meters with large outdoor spaces overlooking the sea, full of works, documents and installations that also tell of the work done by Adrià with elBullifoundation: elBulli1846 is a wunderkammer of the history of cooking that houses the creative notebooks of the chef and his team, drawings by Adrià sold as NFT, mise en place of the restaurant who have made the history of design, mannequins representing the “bullinianos” i.e. leading figures in the restaurant industry (including Massimo Bottura). There are even reproductions of some of his 1846 dishes (hence the number of the museum’s name, which is also the date of birth of the French chef Auguste Escoffier), in the rooms that were once the elBulli kitchen.

The experiences dedicated to Adrià guests

The lucky guests’ bed will be right here, where the restaurant once was, and will be inspired by one of Adrià’s iconic dishes: the spherical olive, considered a perfect example of his “deconstructed” cuisine. A bed that seems to float under the eyes of that bull that continues to be a symbol of the elBulli restaurant. And, given that there are no cafes or refreshment points in the museum due to a specific desire of Adrià who wanted to differentiate the space, guests will be able to enjoy two special gastronomic experiences outside elBulli1846: will be able to dine at one of Ferran’s favorite restaurants in Roses on the evening of the overnight stay and – after checkout – have dinner at Enigma in Barcelona, by head chef Albert Adrià, Ferran’s brother and second best chef in the world according to The Best Chef Awards.

How to win the experience

This exclusive stay at elBulli1846 is available for one night, from 16 to 17 October
2024. You can submit a reservation request starting April 17 at 6:00 pm CEST at airbnb.com/elbulli1846.

Airbnb also specifies: «Guests are responsible for their own return travel from Roses, just 20 minutes from Cala Montjoi, on the Costa Brava, Spain. Once they arrive here, they will be accompanied to elBulli1846. The stay is reserved for a maximum of two adults and includes dinners in other locations.”

And if you really can’t book your stay, if you’re in the area, stop by the museum: elBulli1846 is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 19:30, from 1 May to 12 October 2024 (opening hours
for the 2024 summer season).

Martino Ruggieri from Puglia wins two stars in Paris – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

MR: «The goal was to reach the top since we opened and we are happy: we are already thinking not only about how to maintain the second star, but also about how to improve. This is a stage in my career, and it is important that it has arrived for me, for the team (ten people in the kitchen and five in the dining room for around twenty seats), for the future, but having always cooked in large restaurants, including the three stars, allow me to say that if the recognition doesn’t arrive, either you worked badly or you didn’t learn anything. Having said that, immediately after celebrating we started asking ourselves questions about the location and our type of cuisine because we always have to question ourselves in order to improve.”

You worked alongside Yannick Alléno for eight years: do you owe him much?

MR: «Yes. I owe Alléno everything and on stage, during the awards ceremony, I thanked him by telling him “Merci chef”. He replied: “C’est bien, well done, celebrate with dignity”. And then he added: “Yes, I helped you, but you took the two stars.” Alléno taught me a lot, on a technical, professional and human level and also helped me to have the right people at my side in this entrepreneurial adventure. I am one chef patron (owner chef), I don’t have the money of big restaurants, no investors behind it, if the restaurant is full profit, otherwise not. And this recognition was also important for the speed with which we achieved it: it doesn’t happen so often and my colleagues in Tours also pointed this out to me.”

Do you miss not working alongside Alléno anymore?

MR: «I miss the daily comparison, yes, but I’m happy to have a place of my own. I think I took this step at the right time with the correct maturity, experience and age. In this journey it was important to find an identity different from that of Alléno because when you create a cuisine for many years alongside a chef like him you need to differentiate yourself.”

What is the identity of your cuisine?

MR: «It is certainly very creative: I use bitters a lot, I like contrasts, I create a cuisine based on technique and sauces. When you come to eat with us you eat from a chef and by this I mean that there is substance, nothing is superfluous, you don’t find trends. My Italian side is pushed into memories, not in the dishes, I could say in the Mediterranean to summarize the concept of a cuisine that is nevertheless French, courageous, powerful, strong. I’m proud to be Italian, but I don’t seek Italianness at all costs.”

How to become an inspector of the “Michelin Guide”: interview – Italian Cuisine

How do you get started in the area?

«With the apprenticeship: you travel for a few months accompanied by a senior inspector who takes you to the starred ones, one, two or three so that you understand the different levels of quality. Then you’re on your own and it often happens that once you’re free from those who work alongside you, you take away any whim by having Christmas lunches everywhere, but it all runs out in a couple of weeks. Both for physical reasons and because you learn to choose wisely from the menu. When you are prepared, one dish is enough to understand the place.”

What is the number 1 problem for an inspector?

“Loneliness. Getting the hang of it, you manage to organize a weekend in a beautiful location and have family or friends join you, but the beginnings are hard for everyone. I’ve had a crisis, perhaps in a remote place where they sent me, and even cried. Clearly I didn’t give up and stayed with Michelin for life. I always like, paraphrasing a famous aria, to remember what the motto could be Red Guide: «No one enjoys it because if you enjoy it, it means you’re not working.

On one occasion he said: «You feel the French breathing down your neck, always. They try to influence every choice, even those of individual stars.” In practice, it is like saying that Italians don’t count or at the time, perhaps, they didn’t count.

«It’s more subtle. Meanwhile, it must be said that decisions at Michelin are collegial: no one person ever decides alone, I guarantee it. Then, the custom of exchanging countries for important visits became increasingly popular: if it is true that in our restaurants, in addition to French inspectors, German, English or Japanese ones are increasingly noticeable, it is well known that Italians go to abroad. As for the breath of the French, during my mandate, I tried to broaden their parameters for assigning “macarons”, also bestowing heretical stars for the spirit of the era. “The star is on the plate”, it has always been said, I have tried to go further, to evaluate other factors. For example, in 1996 we awarded one star to Joia in Milan, eliminating once and for all the idea that vegetarian was synonymous with penitential.”

Perhaps they have only understood this in recent years

Gordon Ramsay Recipes