Face. Those two seconds when the face says it all. Three elegant young women, probably from the Middle East, juggle spoons of Albert Adriá’s famous cheesecake, take pictures and post on Instagram the beauty of a strange flower with mango leaves. Barely three meters away, one of the most renowned and innovative chefs of the last few decades is amazed at the enjoyment of his creations. And this head, which never stops spinning, wonders if social networks are no longer the only way to spread an experience that advertising cannot adequately express.
“For me, London is the capital of the world because it is a challenge and an international projection,” explains Adriá (Hospitalet de Llobregat, 50 years old). “And I gladly accept this challenge. If I don’t win here, I don’t even bother trying anywhere else.” The creative mind behind the global success of El Bulli, where he helped create up to 1,800 new recipes that revolutionized gastronomy, decided that the secret to one of the countries with the greatest sweet tooth lies in going back to its pastry origins. “The challenge was the pastry shop, because actually I’ve been a pastry chef my whole life. I have eight restaurants and I didn’t have a pastry shop.”
A year has passed this Friday since Adriá landed in the UK. The Cakes&Bubbles problem, located in the historic and luxurious Cafe Royal Hotel on the corner of Regent Street and Air Street (where Oscar Wilde fell in love with Lord Alfred Douglas, David Bowie helped fuel his anthology party another self, Ziggy Stardust and the Rolling Stones extended the nights beyond their natural cycle) is that it’s hard to understand that this isn’t a restaurant, pastry shop, or cafeteria. “We wanted to make a temporary pastry, not one of those classic ones where you have a few Morteruelos in the fridge four days in a row,” says Adriá. And he took one of his star pastry chefs from the elBarri group, the company that encompasses all his restaurants, to London. David Gil (29 years old), one of the best chocolatiers in Spain. The sweetness of this professional, subjected to pressures that few his age would be able to cope with, even allows him to help Lady Brennan (Pilar Sánchez), the most famous Teruel woman in all of London, and invent an extraordinary one Chocolate bar for her that releases invisible breadcrumbs and drops of oil when you bite into it. His personal contribution to bringing emptied Spain out of isolation. Concentrated, Albert takes the bottle of Teruel oil, pours a little into the first glass he can find, enjoys it in silence and starts asking his employee how the hell he managed to find the recipe. “But you froze it? Oh, you bedded it and covered it with chocolate coloring.” He looks at everyone to convey his childish wonder. “It’s not chocolate and oil. This is chocolate with oil like we used to eat when we were little. Bread, oil, salt and chocolate.”
It’s part of Adria’s magic. Being able to reinvent the most basic and turn it into a work of art. The carrot cake he offers in his shop, for example, is a challenge for any traditional Brit. “The lightest cake” is on the menu. Carrot, Cheese, Sponge Cake, Ginger. Sweet and salty. Hot and ice cold. In less than two bites. “I already know what needs to be done to implement such a proposal. chop stones. And I have no problem with that.” That’s why he keeps watch behind the bar, reads and reads the menu, never stops trying the dishes that come out. “This is an elite street. One of the most expensive in the world [una de las primeras críticas en la prensa británica se asombraba de que en ese local se vendieran dulces y no relojes Rolex] We are in a five star hotel. And pastries are not something people need. It’s very hedonistic. ‘I earn it? I can afford? Am I eating it because I deserve it? they ask themselves. It’s a very intimate pleasure, almost like a drink,” explains the chef.
