Ferran Adria Denies Reports of El Bulli Closing Permanently

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Feb 16th 2010 @ 12:30PM

While Catalan chef Ferran Adria will be shuttering his world-famous El Bulli restaurant for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, the father of avant garde cooking denied reports the restaurant was closing for good, the Associated Press reported.

Adria denies a report in the New York Times that he was closing El Bulli permanently and replacing it with an academy for advanced culinary study.

El Bulli, about two hours north of Barcelona, is considered by many to be the world's best restaurant. However, even for the best, the restaurant business can be tough.

The Times reported the restaurant, known for its creative approach to molecular gastronomy with creations like Parmesan ice cream sandwiches, was losing half a million Euros a year.

"As a business, el Bulli is madness," Adria told the Spanish newspaper El Pais on Sunday, the AP reported. "We need more financial muscle."

El Bulli will close for two years and reopen in 2014 as part of a larger, non-profit foundation that will be able to run educational programs and accept grants.

"Throughout the history of El Bulli we've made seemingly drastic decisions in order to maintain our level of creativity,'' Adria told the Times.

"We had planned to use the two years to see how El Bulli could evolve,'' Adria told the paper. "We've been looking at many options, but yesterday we decided that the foundation would be the most satisfying.''

El Bulli was awarded three Michelin stars in 1997.

It will be open this year from June 15 to Dec. 20. The 2011 season will be announced in September.

Filed Under: Restaurants, Chefs
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