The food world has been shaken up after a food writer has done the unthinkable and accused Ferran Adria - regularly referred to as the best chef in the world - of unknowingly poisoning patrons with additives.
Adria, who reigns over critically acclaimed and multi-Michelin-starred restaurant El Bulli, just outside Barcelona, is usually celebrated by A-listers for his outlandish artistic creations.
Normally it takes years to even get a table in the world famous restaurant, however Jörg Zipprick, a German food writer, is not buying into the hype, saying the supposed house of “molecular gastronomy”should come complete with health warnings advising diners about some of the unusual additives that are present in the dishes.
“These colorants, gelling agents, emulsifiers, acidifiers and taste enhancers that Adria has introduced massively into his dishes to obtain extraordinary textures, tastes and sensations do not have a neutral impact on health,” says Zipprick, further commenting that some of the additivies even had an effect similar to laxatives.
On top of that, molecular chefs often use polysaccharides from seaweed, which have a link to increasing the risk of intestinal cancer, says Zipprick. However Adria vehemently denies that he is putting his diner’s health at risk, adding that the chemicals Zipprick refers to have long been part of haute cuisine cooking.
However it seems it is not just Zipprick questioning the inclusion of such ingredients that are more likely to crop up on a packet of processed food. Santi Santamaria, also a revered Spanish chef, wrote a book last year called The Unappetising Underside of Molecular Cooking, after an attack on Adria’s cooking last year. He said in a newspaper, “Can we be proud of a cuisine which fills plates with gelling agents and laboratory emulsifiers?”
The criticism has not gone down well with the Spaniards however, who view Adria as food hero and national treasure - and therefore often refer to Santamaria’s attack as nothing more than jealousy. Some fellow supporting chefs of Adria even went as far as to sign a petition against Santamaria, terming him a “traitor”. However Zipprick is not convinced.
“It would not occur to any fast-food chain to stuff us with 20 or 30 dishes full of chemical additives,” he says, referring to the El Bulli menu. The restaurant really is for the rich and famous with a meal coming in at an eye watering £300 a head. It is also only open for six months in the year - the rest of the time allows the ‘mad scientist’ to concoct new dishes at his “laboratory” in Barcelona.
While El Bulli is regularly voted the best restaurant in the world by Britain’s Restaurant magazine - having won the coveted title five times, Zipprick calculates that one (expensive) trip to the hot spot makes up 16% of an individual’s annual additive intake.
But its not just the critics and chefs who have something to say - some diners have found it a bit overwhelming too. An American journalist, Bill Buford, announced that his wife was close to storming out of the restaurant after she ate what was termed “electric milk”, which “incinerated her tongue”, while a twenty something student was quoted (in a book about El Bulli) saying “the meal … was an experience and art. I enjoyed it enormously and it made me vomit”.
