May food news: editor's picks

Violet ice cream

Mugaritz: a natural science of cooking

When chef Andoni Luis Aduriz first opened Mugaritz in Guipuzcoa in northern Spain in 1998, no one came. He spent his days waiting for the phone to ring, staring at the surrounding hills and meadows, and the oak trees after which the restaurant is named. These days, securing a reservation is an act of endurance as rabid fans clamour for a taste of his hyper-futuristic take on Spanish cuisine. The food is part performance art, part molecular gastronomy and wildly unfettered culinary genius as Aduriz, who trained with Ferran Adria, turns ordinary ingredients into extraordinary dishes.

His recently released cookbook ‘Mugaritz – A Natural Science of Cooking’ is a distillation of the past 14 years, its 70 recipes – including his fabled potatoes coated in clay to resemble stones, lettuce hearts soaked in vanilla brine, and cucumbers infused with gazpacho water – paired with photographs that feel like high art. We’re not sure anyone would ever attempt to produce any of the dishes at home, but the creativity of even the simplest recipe is revelatory and proof that even in the saturated, often jaded world of dining, there’s still room for genuine wonder.

www.phaidon.com

Writer: Daven Wu
Photography: José Luis López de Zubiria and Per-Anders Jorgensen