In 1983, a 22-year-old Ferran Adrià took over the kitchen of the traditional French restaurant elBulli on the Spanish Costa Brava. In the ensuing three decades, the chef would transform the space into one of the most trailblazing and influential culinary destinations in the world, propelled by a philosophy that emphasised endless creativity, investigation and an open diffusion of the restaurant’s innovations.
elBulli retained three Michelin stars from 1997 until it closed in 2011. Together with Spanish telecom company Telefónica, Adrià turned the space into a foundation for culinary research without the constraints of a restaurant’s day-to-day operations. This venture, elBulli Foundation, opened in 2013 and more projects came along after that.
About MAD:
MAD is a non-profit transforming our food system by giving chefs and restaurateurs the skills, community, time, and space to create real and sustainable change.