Imagine a dish that looks like cheese but tastes purely of toasted almonds. This episode explores Ferran Adria, who went from dishwasher at 18 to head chef of elBulli within 18 months of joining, and how investment and connections from Miquel Horta helped turn a remote restaurant on the Costa Brava into a destination for the global elite.

We break down Adria’s deconstructed cuisine, fat-free foams made with lecithin and nitrous oxide, and the six-month closures devoted to research in Barcelona. We also cover his Documenta 12 invitation, the backlash led by Santi Santamaria, elBulli’s 2011 closure, and his later work in education, the Texturas line, the Bullipedia and elBulli1846.

• How elBulli won the top spot in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants five times
• What deconstructed cuisine means and how Adria’s fat-free foams sharpen flavor
• Why elBulli closed for half the year to run a dedicated creative workshop
• The debate over food as art after Adria’s Documenta 12 invitation
• The public fight over additives and what Adria did after closing elBulli in 2011