
Spainās Cala Montjoi is the bay above which elBulli was perched and where the restaurant will be reborn in 2015 as a foundation and learning center called elBulli 1846 ā in yet another vaguely smug elBulli solipsism, 1,846 was the total number of dishes served at the restaurant. The area isnāt just sacred turf for modernist-food folk, though, itās a national park that environmentalists donāt want Ferran AdriĆ ās ātourist attractionā despoiling. The project will unlawfully expand elBulliās footprint in a āprotected areaā by more than 200 percent, argues a Change.org petition with more than 72,000 signatures.
Whatās more, petitioners believe the parkland is protected by at least four other laws. The foundation, however, is Catalan governmentābacked; thereās even a bill pending to declare elBulliās project in the public interest by arguing the five-time worldās best restaurant is inextricably linked to the area. Critics fear this means the government is saying elBulliās spherified olive oil trumps the well-being of Roncus elbulli, a local arachnid named for the place. The opposition apparently tried meeting recently with AdriĆ , but it ended without ācom[ing] to an understanding.ā They felt maybe he wasnāt taking them seriously when he claimed, āHow many people do you want to go there every day? If you say 25, then weāll make it 25.ā