Ferran Adria

“When you talk about avant-garde cuisine, the surprise factor is really important. For example, I love looking at blogs and the photos, but I'm not that keen on other people taking photos of my dishes.”

“When people arrive at El Bulli, everybody goes through the kitchen. It's a way of making them feel at home. When they leave, the only thing I ask is whether they've been happy. Everything in between, I don't particularly care.”

“Just to eat is a gift.”

“Friends are really important, especially when you've had the successes that I've had. I've gone really far in my career, so they're the ones that keep you humble, keep your feet on the ground.”

“In a city, it's very hard to do a restaurant, an avant-garde-cuisine restaurant, where each year you need to change the whole menu.”

“I can't live without activity; I can't be sedentary.”

“Ferran Adria making hamburgers... some thought it was crazy. But getting them perfect was a challenge. Plus I'm fascinated by all aspects of food.”

“Innovation, being avant garde, is always polemic.”

“Chefs have only been able to work in restaurants, high-end cuisine. Why? Why haven't they been able to find other scenarios? For those chefs who want to do avant-garde cuisine, should they be finding their income in a restaurant?”

“We never have business meals at El Bulli. If it's about business, you're probably not paying much attention to the food.”

“I was 18 when I first started working at a restaurant. I was a dishwasher. I only got the job because I wanted to go to Ibiza for vacation, and washing dishes was the only job I could find.”

“I had a very normal childhood, and my mother cooked very normal food.”

“For me to go to a restaurant and eat something that is not only good, but totally new, is a double thrill. Double the enjoyment.”

“I don't read books regularly, because I'm always writing them. I've written 30 books, thousands of pages.”

“I don't worry about the things I can't change.”

“I don't dream at night; life has given me the stuff I need to be able to dream during the day. I'm very lucky.”

“If I were a customer, and I was given a dish with peppers, I would hate it. I also don't like blood sausage.”

“Why not mix this and that? If soy goes well with fish, how come no one does beef carpaccio with soy? Why do we have such a taste and not another? It's all about culture. There is something, however, that I really don't like: bell peppers.”

“I have a driver's licence, but the truth is that I hardly ever drive. I prefer to get around by taxi.”

“I never even dreamed of being a chef, and that's fundamental.”