If someone with a magic wand would grant me three restaurant reservations anywhere in the world, one of the restaurants would certainly be Ferran Adria's elBulli. Sadly, I don't know anyone with a magic restaurant reservation wand. The next best thing to being there is the new book, "A Day at elBulli: An insight into the ideas, methods and creativity of Ferran Adria." I can't call this a "cookbook" in the traditional sense. There are some recipes in this book, but that's not the point of it . The point is to step through what the elBulli experience is all about with a picture essay of a single day at elBulli. The book is a very hefty 528 pages, nearly 3 inches think, and weighs in at over 6 pounds. Like everything about elBulli, it's an amazing tome.     

The book literally follows a day at elBulli starting at 6:15 am with beautiful pictures of the surrounding landscape and quiet empty restaurant through 2 am when the restaurant is finally, once again, quiet and serene. Throughout there are hundreds of pictures depicting what is happening in the restaurant, with the staff, with the menus, and the diners for the evening's service.  Spread throughout the book are 20 short text passages that describe various aspects of elBulli. There's background on the restaurant and Ferran Adria, his philosophies and cooking methods, and even a very interesting section on how to get a reservation at elBulli. The answer to the reservation question - pick a year and email them if there's availability sometime during that year, if not, try the next year, and so on.     

I got the book late in the day and went to take a quick look to see what it was about. Two hours later I had finally skimmed through the whole book and wanted to go back and start from the beginning for a more intense look. The sections on the creative processes at elBulli are interesting and the pictures incredible. The recipes spread throughout the book are amazingly complex with the final results looking amazingly simple and elegant. I was constantly amazed at the precision required to make many of the dishes, hours or days of prep time, details of the exact temperatures, and prep times are painstakingly recorded and followed. An example of a simple Mango and Black Olive appetizer is reprinted below to show the precision needed.  

One might think that a book full of pictures would be a quick 'read', yet I have much more time to spend with elBulli.  And one day, perhaps I'll find that magic reservation wand and get to experience it first hand.  Until then I'll try not to drool to much on the photos...

Disco De Mango Y Aceituna Negra (Mango and Black Olive Discs)

From A Day at elBulli by Ferran Adrian. Phaidon Press (2008)

Serves 10.

• 150 g (2/3 cup) Garnie
• Mango crisp base mango purée
• 25 g (1 2/3 tbsp) Isomalt
• 5 g (1 tsp) glucose
• 45 g (3 tbsp) icing (confectioner's) sugar

1. Blend the mango purée, Isomalt, glucose and half the icing (confectioner's) sugar in a Thermomix at 80°C / 175°F for 5 minutes.
2. Strain the mixture and add the rest of the sugar, stirring with a whisk.
3. Store in an airtight container.

Dehydrated mango crisp discs

• 150 g (2/3 cup) mango crisp base, previously prepared
• 1 transparent sheet the same size as the dehydrator disc with 20 x 2.5cm (1 in) diameter circles cut out 
• 1 Silpat the same diameter as the dehydrator disc

1. Place the transparent sheet over the Silpat and spread the mango crisp mixture evenly over the circular holes to a depth of 1 mm.
2. Dry out in a dehydrator for 48 hours at 55°C / 130°F.
3. Once completely dried, store the mango discs in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Black olive water and oil

• 400 g (14 oz) black Aragón olives
  

1. Stone (pit) the olives and purée them in a liquidizer.
2. Squeeze the purée through a Superbag to obtain as much liquid as possible.
3. Pour the liquid into a measuring cup and store in a cool, dry place.
4. After 12 hours, the fat will have risen to the top. Separate the fat from the liquid.
5. Refrigerate both parts.

Black olive emulsion

• 50 g (¾ cup) black olive water, previously prepared
• 1/2 x 2 gelatine leaf, rehydrated in cold water
• 0.5 g Sucro
• 50 g (2 oz) black olive fat, previously prepared
• 0.5 g Glice
  

1. Dissolve the gelatine with a third of the black olive water over a medium heat, then add the remaining water.
2. Add the Sucro and process with a hand-held blender.
3. At the same time, dissolve the Glice with the black olive fat at around 50°C / 120°F.
4. Gradually add the fat to the black olive water while processing with the hand-held blender.
5. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
6. Once it has set, make 10 x 0.2 g portions.

Finishing and Presentation

1. Fold small sushi rolling mats, tucking the sides under to create a long platform.
2. Arrange the mats on a slate.
3. Place 10 mango discs on the mats and put 0.2 g of olive emulsion on top of each disc.  Place another mango disc on top of each one.

Cutlery: None.
How to eat: In a single mouthful.

About A Day at elBulli

Ferran Adria reveals for the first time the creative process, innovative philosophy and extraordinary techniques of the multi-award-winning restaurant, elBulli. Situated on a remote beach on the northeast coast of Spain, elBulli is famous for being the ultimate pilgrimage site for foodies, and a reservation that is nearly impossible to obtain. Each year elBulli is open for just six months, and receives more than 2 million requests for only 8,000 seats. Renowned for his spectacular ever-changing 30-course tasting menu, Adria's pioneering culinary techniques have been applauded - and imitated - by top chefs around the globe for the past decade, and he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of our time. If you weren't one of the lucky few to get in this year (2008 reservations were booked a year in advance), you can now experience the restaurant like never before. This generously-illustrated 600-page ''day in the life'' features over 800 photographs, menus, recipes and diagrams, and presents a guided tour through a full working day at elBulli. The book documents the activities of each hour of the day, from dawn at 6.15 am to switching off the lights at 2.00 am.

Available at Amazon.com

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