The Ham That Drives Men MadNew York Magazine has gone Spain-crazy this week. Adam Platt sates his bottomless hunger at Boqueria, and Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld interview Spain’s most illustrious chef, Ferran Adrià of El Bulli. Let Grub Street pile on, then, with talk of the secret society of Spanish pork.
This society may be unofficial, but we belong to it. It is made of men and women who have tasted the meat of the celebrated pata negra, or black-foot pig, and will do anything for more. “Once you taste ibérico, you can’t compare it to anything else,” Bar Jamón chef Andy Nusser has said. The society’s holy grail, though, remains tantalizingly out of reach for Americans — even ones with a deep affinity for Spain.
Back of the House
Spanish Chefs Cook With Dirt, Dazzle Avant-Garde at Weekend DemoSpain’s cooking wizards convened at Guastavino’s Saturday to demonstrate their cutting-edge techniques. We figured the wine would be fabulous. We were counting on acorn-fed jamón ibérico to make Smithfield, Virginia, weep. But “Spain’s 10,” the all-star team headed by the illustrious Ferran Adrià, are known for their dazzling concoctions, so all we really knew to expect were surprises.
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Greatest Chef Ever to Make Best Meal Ever, Give or TakeThe most admired chef in the world doesn’t have a restaurant in New York, Paris, or Las Vegas. He doesn’t appear on TV. His name is little known among the general public, but chefs speak it with awe, in low whispers. He is Ferran Adrià, and he is coming to New York on Saturday.
We kid you not: Adrià, who heads up the kitchen at Spain’s El Bulli, probably rates as the most influential cook in the world. As Rob and Robin explain, New Yorkers will finally have a chance to see him at work when he and nine other leading Spanish cooks demonstrate their “molecular gastronomy” techniques for Spain’s 10: Cocina de Vanguardia, at Guastivino’s, in the magazine. At $300 per person, the event, which includes food and wine samplings throughout the day and a tapas lunch, ain’t cheap. But neither is a Manhattan tablecloth meal. Nor round-trip airfare to Spain.
Buy tickets here.
Spain’s Ten: The Summit