Food for Thought

The pioneering Spanish restaurant EI Bulli is transformed into a museum and culinary laboratory

- Terry Zarikian

THE STORY OF El Bulli is one of the most inspiring in the culinary world. Overlooking Cala Montjoi, a bay on the Costa Brava of Catalonia, El Bulli was born in 1964, when Hans and Marketta Schilling began casually entertaining vacationers with open-air BBQs at their Bulli-Bar, named in honor of the couple’s French bulldogs. This authentic chiringuito—Spanish slang for a small outdoor bar near the water—was the genesis of El Bulli restaurant.

As it developed, the restaurant expanded its culinary offerings, becoming known via positive word of mouth. Then, in 1976, under the leadership of French chef Jean-Louis Neichel, El Bulli received its first Michelin star. But by the early ’80s, Neichel wanted to relocate to Barcelona to open a restaurant. He was replaced by Jean-Paul Vinay, a disciple of nouvelle cuisine pioneer Michel Guérard, who gradually introduced more sophisticated dishes such as escalope of turbot with spinach soufflé, earning the restaurant its second Michelin star.

Enter the Adrià Brothers