Ferran Adrià and elBulli: Reflecting on Food Arts Magazine's 1997 Article, Foam, Foam On The Range, The First Major Article to Appear About Adrià and elBulli

 

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(Photographs of Ferran Adrià, Colman Andrews, Jim Poris and Michael and Ariane Batterberry by Gerry Dawes©2021.)

 

Ferran Adrià giving me a friendly greeting, at the Joselito pavilion San Sebastián Gastronomika, November 11, 2010.

 

“The first major article about Ferran in the United States was a piece written by Hispano-phile food and wine writer Gerry Dawes for the chef-centered magazine Food Arts in late 1997, in reference to what became Ferran’s first culinary creation, it was headlined “Foam, Foam on the Range.” —Colman Andrews, Ferran: The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food (Gotham,New York, 2010).

 

 

 Author Colman Andrews in Madrid. 

Author Colman Andrews and Chef Ferran Adrià in New York at the book signing party for Colman's Ferran: The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food.

 

 

The Food Arts magazine re-print of  Gerry Dawes’s article on El Bulli in 1997, one of the most important and impactful articles in the history of the magazine. The reprint was published as part of the 20th anniversary publication marking thefounding of the magazine.

 

“As a newspaperman steeped in the culture of New York City tabloids, I knew the importance of getting to a story first, even for a monthly food trade publication like Food Arts that did not have a general circulation. But the magazine did have great influence in the food world and I thought it would be a coup for us to run the first English language blowout piece about Ferran Adrià before his impact spread beyond Spain. At the time (1997), few Americans had been to, let alone heard of, El Bulli.  

 

Ferran Adrià at elBulli with his foam canister, 1998. 

But Gerry Dawes, already known as Mr. Spain, had. His article revealed the great culinary awakening sweeping from Adria’s kitchen through the rest of Spain, which suddenly overtook France as the focal point of creative cuisine. The attention paid to the eccentricities of Adria and his disciples also led millions of chefs, culinary professionals and food aficionados to visit Spain, where they discovered something far more enduring: the great treasures of the country’s re-invigorated regional cuisines. That’s a lot ofheavy lifting for one piece in an American trade magazine.”—Jim Poris, Senior Editor, Food Arts.

 

Jim Poris, Senior Editor, Food Arts magazine.

 

Jim Poris also says that this article inspired a whole generation ofyoung chefs to travel to Spain in search of these new cocina de vanguardia experiences and look for training stages in the kitchens of Spain, which in turn also led them to discovering traditional Spanish cuisines and inspired the proliferation of tapas bars and restaurants that we enjoy in the United States today. -- These excerpts are from Sunset in a Glass, Adventures of a Food & Wine Road Warrior in Spain by Gerry Dawes©2021  (publication summer/fall 2021). 

 

Ferran Adrià and Gerry Dawes at elBulli in May 2008.

 

 “That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain’s riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry ‘Mr. Spain’ Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute.” —Michael and Ariane Batterberry, editor-in-chief and publisher and founding editor and publisher, Food Arts.

 

Michael and Ariane Batterberry, editor-in-chief and publisher and founding editor and publisher, Food Arts.

 

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Photos of Ferran Adrià, Colman Andrews, Jim Poris and Michael and Ariane Batterberry by Gerry Dawes©2021.

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 About Gerry Dawes

Gerry Dawes is the Producer and Program Host of Gerry Dawes & Friends, a weekly radio progam on WPWL 103.7 FM Pawling Public Radio in Pawling, New York.

  Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés. 

". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 
 

Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain  

Gerry Dawes can be reached at  gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com