On a high with Chef Ferran Adria

It was during our second bottle of wine at Barcino Rockwell when my friend Sergi Rostoll dropped the bomb that Ferran Adrià would be coming to Hong Kong. My eyes widened, and before I could say anything, he added that the event would have a gala dinner, and he had an extra seat for his first friend in the Philippines — me. My heart almost stopped; I was going to be in the presence of the world’s most influential chef! I had to steady my hands on the table to make sure the alcohol wasn’t making me delusional.

“Wait, Ferran isn’t cooking,” Sergi immediately disclosed. “He doesn’t cook outside of El Bulli.” It made sense that the chef who pioneered the use of science to deconstruct and rebuild food would not re-create outside the familiarity of his two-million-reservation-requests-a-year-kitchen in Roses, Spain — which had just closed its doors to the public last July 30. Instead, Ferran would be giving a series of conferences, and would be flying with his protégé, Paco Roncero, who would be preparing an 11-course dinner at the newly opened Ritz Carlton.

21st Century Spanish Omelette: Tortilla de patatas in a martini glass

Paco helms the two-Michelin-star La Terraza del Casino, and gastro-bar Estado Puro in Madrid, offering the same avant-garde cuisine as his mentor. Ferran himself declared Paco to be “the most complete, and one of the best chefs in Spain.” This was enough to get me — and die-hard foodies — excited. (An editor of a Hong Kong-based international publication told me that just two hours after she had received the press release, all three nights — each with 90 seats and priced at HK $4,800 (about P27,000) per head — had already sold out! Even the wait list was full!)

The Wines of El Bulli

The reason why Sergi was involved was because he was supplying the wines for all the dinners and conferences. Filipinos may remember him as one of the Barcino kingpins who moved to Manila from Barcelona in 2006 to run the popular Spanish tapas restaurant/bar that now holds five locations around Metro Manila. He is presently based in Shanghai where he is working as Asia Pacific’s regional sales director for González Byass, a family-owned winery in Jerez, Andalucia, founded in 1835. They are the common thread between El Bulli in Spain and Barcino in the Philippines, as both establishments carry González Byass wines. The dinner we would be attending was to be hosted by the Spanish Tourism Board, the night before it would open to the public. I had already planned to spend the four-day weekend at the end of August in Hong Kong, so I just moved my flight two days earlier.

Spain in Hong Kong

The world’s highest hotel was the appropriate backdrop for such a culinary feast. Since its opening last March, the Ritz Carlton’s signature restaurants Tin Lung Heen and Tosca have been fully booked, with a wait list of up to three months. From Aug. 25 to 28, Paco Roncero would be cooking at Tosca.

Ozone is currently the highest bar in the world on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton

Pass-around tapas like Black Sesame Sponge Cake with Red Miso (a Ferran Adrià recipe at El Bulli), Caipirinha Nitro, Philopizza Spherificated Olives, and Liqud Ham Croquettes were served to us over cocktails. These “snacks” were the first five courses of the dinner. Visually, they looked interesting; none of them looked like their classic original versions. The spherificated olives were little gelatinous balls that quivered gently in the mouth before bursting to reveal the full green olive flavor. There was also a carving station of black-hooved Joselito Iberico ham, which Ferran had described as the “most delicious ham in the world.” It was a delicately thin medley of sweet and salty, nutty and earthy, a beautifully complex flavor. Ferran, along with fellow great chefs Joël Robuchon and Juan Mari Arzak, serve Joselito Iberico ham in their restaurants.

All the tables were named after Spanish cities, and ours was “Ibiza.” Apart from Sergi, my tablemates for the night included Spanish Chamber of Commerce secretary general Borja Sanchez, and Universal Exports president Gary Thomas. We all had hearty appetites and shared an appreciation for good food and wine. Tosca has an open kitchen so we could see Chef Paco in action, who cooked and plated each course meticulously. He had brought two of his staff from Spain, and the rest of the kitchen staff were from the Ritz Carlton.

The first dish was, for me, the most remarkable. Called XXI Century Spanish Omelette, it was tortilla de patatas served in a martini glass. It was three layers of creamy consistency, with sautéed onions, egg whites and egg yolks, which when dug thoroughly with a spoon brought out the familiar taste of the Spanish comfort food, only in a whipped, velvety texture. The fruity and aromatic Viñas del Vero Gewurztraminer, which was paired with it, had hints of lychee, and a spiciness that countered the saltiness of the omelette. “If you have a lighter-bodied wine with this dish, the flavor disappears,” Sergi observed.

The Carbonara Egg Nest presented the traditional Italian pasta in the form of a reconstructed egg. It was topped with pecorino cheese slices and a surrounding pork broth in a gelatin texture. The surprise was at the center of the egg — a spherificated yolk that explodes in the mouth. It was served with the Viñas del Vero Clarión 2009, a selection of the “best white grape varieties” — nobody really knows what — only that it produces large white flower aromas and tropical and summer fruits over smoked tones.

The next dish, Lobster with Olive Oil Soup and Pink Grapefruit, came in the form of tender, succulent lobster pieces swimming in a thick, glutinous olive oil soup, and drizzled with pink grapefruit. I would have to say that I preferred the wine over the dish here. The Beronia Gran Reserva 2003 has notes of vanilla, chocolate, mocha and spices from being aged in a barrel for two years, before being aged for six more years in a winery under (to quote Sergi) “perfect conditions with the bottle not moving at all.”

Chef Paco Roncero and assistant Ismael plate the Chocolate Coulant Nitro desserts.

The flavors of the Hake with Green Beans and Green Peas Cream came out when paired with the Blecua 2004, a combination of cabernet, merlot and granache, formed from a triple selection process: best vineyards, best grapes, best barrels. The succeeding dish, Young Pigeon with Gele Cru Apples, was also paired with this wine. It was cooked stir-fry pink half-way, served with generous black truffles. The medium-bodied wine’s complexities complemented the sauces.

Dessert came in the form of Chocolate Coulant Nitro — molecular hazelnut crushed dark cocoa and crushed sponge cake. It was a soft chocolate mousse, both dark and milk, with a whip-light melt-in-the-mouth texture, which I really enjoyed. It was paired with the Noe, Jereces Vors 30 Años, one of the oldest and rarest Spanish wines to date. It contains hints of raisins, figs, coffee, Christmas spices, rounded out with cooked fruit, which extended the flavor of the dish.

Most of the dishes were Paco’s signature dishes at La Terrazas, and frankly speaking, it’s the closest we could get to Ferran’s cooking: Spanish cuisine in an avant-garde framework. (I’m careful not to use the term “molecular gastronomy,” which has been used many times to describe Ferran’s cooking. He shuns the term, calling it a “marketing invention.”) It was delicious, and definitely an experience, but no longer shocking, since it has already been replicated in kitchens around the world. I admired Paco for being brave enough to work with a culinary team he had never met before, on another side of the world.

I met Paco later that night at Ozone, the highest bar in the world, perched on the hotel’s 118th floor. He was very kind and gracious, thrilled that I had enjoyed his dinner immensely. He expressed a keen interest in the Philippines, especially in coming here to cook one day. (So if anyone has any suggestions, let me know!)

In the Philippines, Viñas Del Vero Gewurztraminer and Beronia Gran Reserva are available at Barcino. For more on Ferran Adrià and Paco Roncero in Hong Kong, check out the upcoming November issue of Lifestyle Asia.

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