KEY POINTS:
Found in the small Spanish town of Roses, master chef Ferran Adria's elBulli restaurant is open for just six months of the year. It turns down annually three-quarters of a million requests to sit at one of its 50 tables and it is permanently booked out.
Indeed,
only if there is a cancellation are you likely to get your foot in the door - but if you do, then you are in for a culinary treat which has seen elBulli voted the World's Best Restaurant for three years in a row.
It is its unique approach to food - combining unusual ingredients using sophisticated scientific techniques - that sets elBulli apart.
Adria is the mastermind behind the menu. He travels for six months of the year looking for inspiration then buries himself, alongside a team of chefs and scientists, in his Barcelona laboratory, elBullitaller. Here they experiment with "molecular gastronomy", which involves taking chemical reactions and turning them into haute cuisine.
Adria's creative flair has seen him described as the Salvador Dali of cuisine and hailed as a revolutionary when it comes to challenging the face of contemporary cuisine.
Barcelona-born Alain Devahive, who visits Auckland this week for the Hospitality Show, worked at elBulli for a number of years before moving behind the scenes to the food laboratory.
"The restaurant is located on the north coast of Spain, on the border with France, and is very much linked to its surrounding nature and environment. My personal opinion is that one thing would not have sense without the other one, that is, the restaurant would not be possible if it was not located where it is."
He now holds the title research and development chef and spends his days travelling the world giving courses and demonstrations on "spherification" (turning globules of liquid into membrane-covered spheres), "gellification" (making gelatine spaghetti, ravioli or thin membranes infused with flavours) and "emulsification" (creating unusual textures from food, such as foam).
While it all sounds incredibly clinical the results are taste sensations that work to surprise and delight the diner like nothing else.
"Taste is not the only sense that can be stimulated," says the elBulli website.
"Touch can be played with (contrasts of temperature and textures), as well as smell, sight (colours, shapes, trompe l'oeil), whereby the five senses become one of the main points of reference in the creative cooking process."
Devahive who speaks Catalan, and requires a translator, is truly passionate about the achievements of his boss and mentor.
"It is a great privilege just to meet him, so working with him, is a real gift. People call him a genius because he broke the existing mould in the kitchen. The most important thing, however, is that it was achieved through a lot of effort, discipline and good judgment."
In Auckland, Devahive will be holding a series of masterclasses where he will showcase the Texturas range of products which allow the cook at home to create elBulli-style treats.
It isn't for the faint-hearted and requires a fair bit of concentration, but you can bet if you serve these up at your next dinner party your guests will be impressed.
* Hospitality Show masterclasses with Alain Devahive at the ASB Show Grounds: Sunday August 31: 10.30am, 2.30pm. Monday September 1: 11.30am (sold out). 4pm. Tuesday September 2: 11am. Classes run for two hours and cost $180. To book, ph: 976 8307.
