Breaking News . . . Earlier we heard word that Ferran Adria would close his restaurant El Bulli for a two year period from 2011-2013. Now he has announced that he will be closing permanently in December 2011. The restaurant along with his cooking workshop in Barcelona has been losing money at the tune of a half million Euros a year, although as we mentioned in our post on the two-year closure, the cookbooks are generating a large income. Instead of opening a new restaurant he will use any resulting funds to open an academy devoted to the study of molecular and other gastronomic studies; the academy will sponsor scholarships to allow the most talented chefs from around the world to attend.
The construction of the unique “Gastronomic University” also known as the Basque Culinary Centre began a few weeks ago in San Sebastian, Spain. The university will be the first of its kind and is designed to look like a pile of stacked plates. Students will be encouraged to use scientific innovation to prepare the recipes of the future and will try to master the science of “molecular gastronomy” under the direction of Ferran Adria, owner of the famous restaurant El Bulli, and other well-known chefs. There are already many Michelin-decorated restaurants in the town and their chefs are more than likely to participate in helping with tuition costs and possibly teaching duties. Heston Blumenthal, the self-taught chef at the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, U.K., who has followed in the footsteps of Adria, will probably be a guest lecturer.
