"el bulli closing" news and stories

At the annual James Beard Foundation awards, held May 3 in Manhattan, many important awards were handed out to many famous chefs. But one of the most interesting tidbits of food-world news was shared backstage after the ceremony at Lincoln Center's Avery Fischer Hall.

Tom Colicchio (the "Top Chef" judge) won the most prestigious award, for Outstanding Chef in America. One chef who was beaten by Colicchio is the Spaniard José Andrés, but he's nevertheless having a fantastic year. Andrés, a disciple of Ferran Adrià, was profiled recently on "60 Minutes," and his Los Angeles restaurant Bazaar is the hottest table in the city.

On the red carpet, Andrés deflected a question about whether the "60 Minutes" piece had led to a flood of reservations.

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.

ElBulli groupies will have to wait until 2014 to get their fill of sea-urchin foam.

Ferran Adrià announced Tuesday that he will be closing his mecca of molecular gastronomy in Roses, on the northeastern coast of Spain, for all of 2012 and 2013.

"No meals will be served in elBulli in 2012 and 2013," Adrià said. "But elBulli is not closing down. These are not two years on sabbatical. I need time to decide how 2014 is going to be. We want the year 2014 to stand out and I know that when I return it will not be the same.