Inside Chef Ferran Adria's S.F. Visit
By: Karen Leibowitz
As he took the stage of the Castro Theater on Monday, renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria warmed up the audience of 1,400 people by declaring his love for San Francisco.
And the feeling was clearly mutual.
Speaking through a translator, Adria noted that we could confirm on the internet that he wasn’t just flattering us, since he has publicly declared that Barcelona, Sydney, and San Francisco are the only places he would want to live. The crowd exploded into applause, in the first of many spontaneous ovations.
So what did Adria enjoy in San Francisco on this visit? He stopped by Humphry Slocombe (Harrison at 24th St.), where he sampled every single flavor and took pictures with the staff. He declared the ice cream excellent, but didn’t finish all twelve scoops. I overheard Adria ask Jake Godby, “Parlez-vous Francais?” to which the response was a tentative “Un poquito?” The translator mentioned that Adria had expected more people to speak Spanish in San Francisco.During the course of his lecture, Adria found time to praise the food at La Taqueria (on Mission at 25th St.) and Omnivore Books (Cesar Chavez at Church St.); rumor has it that he also ducked into Range (Valencia, between 19th and 20th) for a quick bite and a cocktail before his event.
The lecture itself focused on the nature of creativity, and Adria kept it lively with a number of visual demonstrations, including several lush videos of the advanced culinary techniques he used at El Bulli, but also some simple ingredients, like an orange and an egg, which he pulled from a paper grocery bag.
After signing his new book, "The Family Meal", Adria ate dinner at Mission Chinese Food (Ed.note: the writer helped found the restaurant) with a large group that accompanied him from the theater. In addition to chefs David Kinch (Manresa) and Chris Cosentino (Incanto), about a dozen volunteers who had staffed the event sat down alongside folks from Omnivore Books and Adria’s publisher, Phaidon. Tucked into a corner at the back of the restaurant, Adria was the source of the room’s festive atmosphere, as everyone took their turn sneaking an admiring look at the genius of El Bulli. Just having Adria around felt like a good reason to celebrate.
After signing his new book, "The Family Meal", Adria ate dinner at Mission Chinese Food (Ed.note: the writer helped found the restaurant) with a large group that accompanied him from the theater. In addition to chefs David Kinch (Manresa) and Chris Cosentino (Incanto), about a dozen volunteers who had staffed the event sat down alongside folks from Omnivore Books and Adria’s publisher, Phaidon. Tucked into a corner at the back of the restaurant, Adria was the source of the room’s festive atmosphere, as everyone took their turn sneaking an admiring look at the genius of El Bulli. Just having Adria around felt like a good reason to celebrate.
(Photograph below by Alanna Hale.)
