Ferran Adrià, the haute cuisine genius who turned El Bulli into the most famous restaurant in the world, is set to get a a six-part scripted bio.
The series business model has been developed from an original formula by 3Cat, the go-ahead Barcelona-based Catalan public broadcaster. 3Cat, Minoria Absoluta( “The Teacher Who Promised the Sea,” “I Love You, Stupid”) and FishCorb Media (“Waiting for Dalí,” “Seve,” “Papillon”) are producing the series.
Netflix has acquired rights to Spain and Latin America. Packing six parts, the series will capture how Adrià, with partner Juli Soler, revolutionized cooking, joining El Bulli in 1983 as an intern and made head chef from 1986, creating foam food or cooking apart the ingredients of a dish, transforming their texture and appearance. These were then served together in minute portions, for example, in an egg-cup or sherry glass.
In 2003, Adrià made the cover of the New York Times, which announced the “Nueva Nouvelle Cuisine: How Spain Became the New France.” The Guardian hailed Adrià in 2006 as “artist, scientist, stage director, designer, philosopher, anarchist, revolutionary, comedian and accidental businessman.” Restaurant Top 50 awarded El Bulli first place in 2002 and again in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 2010, El Bulli announced it would close for good.
Adrià’s triumph came at large personal sacrifice – he traditionally worked 15-hours a day, 330 days a year. The series looks set to show Adrià earning prestige and admirers but also rivals and competitors in equal parts.
Offering gastronomy as not just exquisite eating but a form of entertainment, another of El Bulli’s attractions is its location: On a small hill overlooking Cala Montjoi, on Catalonia’s Mediterranean Costa Brava, one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world.
Made up of 50-minute episodes, the series weighs in as a high-profile contribution to Spanish film tourism, part of celebrations of Catalunya, Regió Mundial de Gastronomia, an initiative of the Catalan Government.
3Cat and Catalunya, Regió Mundial de Gastronomia issued a call for tender in October 2024, inviting Catalan producers to propose a scripted series of mainstream international ambitions which would promote Catalonia as an upscale tourist destination and its wide-ranging and rich gastronomy. The tender was won by Barcelona’s Minoria Absoluta and FishCorb Media, based in Barcelona and Los Angeles.
“It’s difficult to find a real-life, inspiring story, turning on such an attractive theme as cooking. Bringing it to the screen with the ambition we have been able to harness together with our partners will covert this series in a treat for broad audiences, meaning that the bet made 3Cat and Catalunya, Regió Mundial de Gastronomia makes perfect sense,” said Pío Vernis, 3Cat audiovisual business director.
“The series is in line with ‘The Bear,’ adding the pleasure for spectators of ‘Toscana,’ all with the added plus of being based on true events,” he added.
In visual terms, the series combines a varied landscape of vineyards, coast and architecture with that of ‘food porn,’ depicting as much haute cuisine as traditional Catalan gastronomy and local produce, which will serve as a gastronomic co-protagonist, he noted.
The series is scheduled to go into production on Dec. 8.
On Sept. 22 at an event forming part of the San Sebastián Film Festival’s Culinary Zinema, Catalunya, Regió Mundial de Gastronomia will unveil the series’ title, a first look teaser, the premiere date and key cast – which will include Catalan and international actors playing key figures in the haute cuisine revolution.
Minoria Absoluta has moved from political satire (“Polònia,” 2006) to documentaries (“Asalto al Banco Central,” 2009, “Tartessos,” 2022) to theater (“La Familia Irreal,” 2012) and feature film production (“I Love You Stupid,” 2019). Minoria Absoluta’s second feature, “The Teacher Who Promised the Sea,” grossed €1.74 million ($2.03 million) in Spain, proving a box office breakout as Spanish audiences begIn to warm to upscale social-issue movies of unsung heroes in Spain’s past.
FishCorb Media has produced films of considerable size for an independent (“Papillon”), bios of Spanish personalities (“Seve”) and “Waiting for Dali,” a restaurant-based film set on the Barcelona coast very near to El Bulli. “Sun drenched and lulled by the ocean-shore this is a delightful fable about the art of love, life and food. Beautifully made and brimming with joy,” Guillermo del Toro said of “Waiting for Dali.”
