Video: Cooking and Creativity

In a public lecture at Harvard in December, Ferran Adrià described the development of techniques in use at his restaurant, elBulli—and how he became a chef who takes chances.

This Web extra supplements "The Harvard Center for Gastrophysics?

Ferran Adrià is head chef at elBulli, the restaurant near Barcelona that Restaurant magazine has rated best in the world for three years running, and four times in all. He came to Harvard in December to give a public lecture—and to sign an agreement for an ongoing collaboration with Harvard scientists.

Video by Mark Felton

 

Watch this video for:

• images of culinary creations from the elBulli kitchen
• an excerpt from Professor Roberto Kolter’s introduction of Ferran Adrià—the would-be pro-soccer player turned chef
• Adrià’s discussion of how he creates melon “caviar”—spheres of liquefied melon inside a thin gelatinous shell 

 

(Translating for Adrià is professor of microbiology and molecular genetics Roberto Kolter; the woman at the left of the screen is Adrià's wife, Isabel Pérez.)

Related topics

You might also like

How AI Is Reshaping Supply Chains

Harvard Kennedy School lecturer on using AI to strengthen supply chains

This Astronomer is Sounding a Warning on ‘Space Junk’

As debris accumulates in low Earth orbit, the danger of destructive collisions continues to rise.

Understanding AI Vulnerabilities

As artificial intelligence capabilities evolve, so too will the tactics used to exploit them. 

Most popular

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

After a final round of layoffs, University leaders say 165 staff jobs were eliminated across the division.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

A vase of yellow flowers on a table next to an orange and a glass.

Harvard Art Museums restores a rare glimpse of an American master.

Runners compete on a track, with a Harvard athlete in the foreground and others behind.

After a historic 2025-26 season, athletes eye NCAA championships.

Portrait of a man in a denim shirt beside a blue book cover for "Gretal and the Great War" featuring an illustration of a leg holding an army helmet..

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.