Andoni Aduriz Of Spain's Mugaritz: Exposing Food Ideas, Part 2
This is the second installment in a two-part series with chef Andoni Aduriz. You can find the first installment here.
The Daily Meal: Looking back over the years, which part of life and your work has brought you the most satisfaction?
Chef Andoni Aduriz: As my colleague Dani says in Mugaritz, the most risky projects have given us the greatest satisfactions. The reward itself is to see how a restaurant so unique and personal as Mugaritz has endured over time, almost two decades, and that today it is filled with customers that come from more than fifty countries. To see a person that is moved is a large reward for us that compensates all the doubts and fears along the way.
What did your interlude at El Bulli with Ferran Adria bring to your life other than cuisine and technique?
A lot of creativity, boldness, and consistency. When El Bulli was a fragile project and some had questioned and criticized it harshly, Ferran was not discouraged and argued for better quality and ideas.
The gospel of your kitchen has influenced kitchens as far away as Chile, California, Paris, Mexico, and Peru. Do you feel a sense of pride when you see your ideologies being adopted far from your own kitchens?
Obviously! I always tell the people that pass by Mugaritz, that the recipes, the products, the techniques, and the elaboration change in the future. But that attributes such as critical consciousness, innovation, sensibility, respect, perseverance, and solidarity never change. I get emotional when I see the people, who have passed through Mugaritz, be able to do what they want in life without any pressure.
You have said that for a chef, "to align yourself entirely with the idea of sustainability makes chefs complacent and limited." In this recent bandying about of the term "sustainability" what is your advice to young chefs jumping on this bandwagon?
The best wines in the world have evolved to excellence because its market is global and they are not exclusively consumed in the territory where it is produced. The same happens in great restaurants who find themselves sustainable, thanks to an audience from around the world. If we did not consume coffee, because it is not a product that is produced in our environment, and in addition, stopping a habit that is already part of our culture (Italy and its coffee are insoluble words, for example), we would leave millions of people without a job who use this type of cultivation as a way of life. It is unsustainable what comes from outside to add value. It is unsustainable what comes from outside and destroys what is good in origin. For example when for purely economic reasons, vegetable mass production make local production unviable.
Meals at Mugaritz are much more than that since there is a lot of engagement between the guests and the content and context of what is on the plate. Why is it so important to you to build this dialogue along with a playful relationship?
For me cooking is something very serious but this does not mean that the dining tables are a party. Humans learn more when they are having fun. On the other hand, in Mugaritz, we tend to say that we do not do "rich" things but we do things that make sense, and that is why it is so important to contextualize things.
With the globalization of products, kitchen personnel, and techniques taking on an international identity, how can ethnicity and cultural context be maintained?
It is certainly difficult, but we cannot ignore that the authorship itself is a differential factor. It also happens in tradition. For example, the products of all the Mediterranean countries have almost the same types of vegetables but in Italy, France, Lebanon, Greece or Spain, the types of cuisines that are elaborated are very distinct. There are similarities but also a lot of diversity.
You are described as an avant-garde Spanish chef and also as a radical when it comes to innovating. Which description is more apt?
I try, with my team, to share the knowledge that we have accumulated throughout our path in a dreamy way and with a style that is not detached from containment, naturalness, and unpredictability. [pullquote:right]
Chefs are traveling en masse with their teams to do short-term or longer pop ups far from home. You recently did one in the Philippines. Are any more planned in the upcoming future?
It costs us to cook outside of our restaurant, but when a colleague or a person who has gone through Mugaritz requests us because it is important for their project, we feel obliged to. They have made Mugaritz possible and it is our way of thanking them.
Recently the Gelinaz Shuffle took you to California on an adventurous assignment. How and why do chefs such as yourself become part of this elite club, and what interested you personally in the experience?
Andrea Petrini, the promoter of this idea, told me that many chefs who were part of this project asked for Mugaritz and me to be included as well. I felt it was beautiful that my colleagues asked for it and this got us excited. For me, the experience was very intense and obligated me to give the best of me and to push me, which has made me better.
You are consistently in the top ten on the World's 50 Best list, yet the third Michelin star has inexplicably eluded you. Have you moved on, or it is still something that you aspire to for your team?
What I have been obsessed with in my life is to conquer spaces of credibility that give us freedom to work the way we would like. I believe we have reached it. From this point onwards, they award us more or less depending on our work. It does not disturb me, the fact that they do not recognize us; what irritates me is to feel that I am not doing what I wish to do.
What are your upcoming travels or collaborations?
We will be traveling to Malaysia, New York, Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina before the end of the year. And our agenda for the next year is just as full.
What global influences are appearing on your menus in this season? You have said before that these influences are not premeditated, so have your travels introduced new ideas on the present menu?
Mugaritz does not reinvent itself but it evolves. We develop ideas, techniques and reflect on each year. It is possible that from one year to the next, not much change of style is perceived but the guests who have been coming for three, four or five years do feel the change.
This is the second installment in a two-part series with chef Andoni Aduriz. You can find the first installment here.