Interviews
Thursday, 02 July 2009 02:07
Written by Urbanatomy

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This Spanish master at the helm of El Willy is not looking forward to hell

First off, being a Spanish chef, don’t you ever get sick of hearing about Ferran (the chef of El Bulli in Spain)?
In Spain, you see him everywhere. But the guy has done a lot for Spanish food, so I think we’re pretty lucky to have that guy. I have a lot of respect for him.

What song title best sums up your style of cooking?
(consulting his iTunes)This would be a good one: ‘I Want Some Fun’ by Jay Jay Johanson…

What cuisine do you think is entirely overrated?
French cuisine. It’s good food, but those guys have been promoting it for so long.

If you could switch places with a chef, who would it be and why?
Ferran Adrià is in a good position, I would say. Open six months a year, only nights, five days a week. The rest of the year he travels around, works in the laboratory. I mean, man, that’s a pretty nice job.

Click here to continue reading... This Spanish master at the helm of El Willy is not looking forward to hell

First off, being a Spanish chef, don’t you ever get sick of hearing about Ferran (the chef of El Bulli in Spain)?
In Spain, you see him everywhere. But the guy has done a lot for Spanish food, so I think we’re pretty lucky to have that guy. I have a lot of respect for him.

What song title best sums up your style of cooking?
(consulting his iTunes)This would be a good one: ‘I Want Some Fun’ by Jay Jay Johanson…

What cuisine do you think is entirely overrated?
French cuisine. It’s good food, but those guys have been promoting it for so long.

If you could switch places with a chef, who would it be and why?
Ferran Adrià is in a good position, I would say. Open six months a year, only nights, five days a week. The rest of the year he travels around, works in the laboratory. I mean, man, that’s a pretty nice job.

And a kitchen staff that mostly works for free, right?
Yeah, dude!

How many hats do you own?
I would say around 30.

What easy dish can you not prepare very well?
That would have to be sushi and sashimi. They should be easy – it’s just cutting fish. But I can’t do it. I can’t cut fish and make it look as beautiful as a sushi chef can.

Why do you paint your chef coats?
When I started here I used to go to the fabric market and do my own designs. I had all of these patchwork chef coats. But after sending them to our laundry service for three months, the colors would bleed and fade. So I had my business partner start painting them for me.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever put in your mouth?
I was at a banquet in Guangzhou and they served beetles. They tasted like humidity; they were just pasty and unappealing.

So what food does a Spanish chef use for seduction?
I’m getting a raw oyster feeling and then maybe something like… Japanese seafood, or better yet, abalone!

Is that theoretical or from experience?
(laughs) A little bit of each!

What food should be served in hell?
In hell, I picture big bubbling pots of boiling marmite with kitchen staff toiling among the flames, ladling it out and slopping it into bowls…

Urgh. And heaven?
Iberian ham… a lot of lobster feeling, seafood and, uh… ham.

You mentioned ham twice, spoken like a true Catalan! So what is your biggest failed recipe?
I’ve got a lot, but one of them was cockles with umeshu (Japanese plum wine)and with lime. Oh, it was awful, man!

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