There are some flavor combinations that exist which go so well together and sometimes you can break your head to make a technical dish with the same flavors that tastes as good as the original. listed below are some perfectly matched flavors which exist today;

• Strawberries and cream
• Licorice and lime
• Tomato, mozzarella and basil
• Dulce leche, green apples and olive oil
• Bitter Chocolate and Foie gras
• Miso, burnt butter and Salmon
• Balsamic vinegar and strawberries
• Lime and coconut
• Goats cheese, figs, port and rosemary
• Tomato, passion fruit and caramel
• And my personal favorite Whiskey on Ice

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This morning we received some amazing king crab which is produced by one of the best pre-cooked seafood companies in Spain. It is pure meat from both the Legs and the body. So I set out with the aim of producing 2 different plates using the same flavor profiles to use in our 2 Michelin Star restaurant and the other for El bulli Catering which is the catering side of our business.

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You may remember a story I wrote about a year ago when I created a dish based on very long braised tendons in a sechuan style.

I start by cooking the beef tendon for 18 hours which at this point they are soft like pure gelatin. I then clean them and press them into a terrine so there are no air gaps. When it’s cold it becomes very hard and almost the feel of one of those Super balls you used to bounce when you were a child. When this terrine heated up it is very soft and sticky in your mouth, basically a great heavy dish for winter.

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Last night we were awarded our Second Michelin Star in a cocktail reception to mark the 100 year Anniversary and launch of the new Michelin Red Guide. All the stars were out at this presentation with pretty much every major Chef in Spain present.

Everyone here has worked very hard for this second star and it is a well deserved milestone for all, Paco has been fighting for many years to achieve his second star and I am very happy to of helped him Achieve this. Congratulations Paco, You deserve this very much!

A special congratulations for the Roca brothers who gained their very long overdue 3rd star for El Celler de Can Roca, and also to a Great Chef and Friend, David Muñoz from DiverXo who took his first Michelin Star!

Congratulations to all the Restaurants who gained last night as you are the ones who are making Spanish food the best in the world!

I have been trying to play it cool all day, but now is the moment of truth………. Michelin Guide 2010 Spain and Portugal is being released tonight at a special cocktail to mark the 100 year Anniversary. We will be preparing 3 tapas as well as all the best Chefs from around Madrid.

Never have I been in a city where the rumors were as strong about the contents of the Michelin Guide as they are here in Madrid right now, which makes it even harder to remain cool.

We are hoping for our second Star tonight and to tell you the truth it is long over due with the first star being awarded a long time ago and Paco really deserves it!

It would complete my goals of being here in Spain as I came here 2 years ago with the mission of Helping Paco gain his second Star. Now with my next project in the pipeline it would be a dream come true if we achieved that second Michelin Star before I leave for New York.

Cross your fingers for us!

Quite some time ago I wrote a story about a Melting courgette flower I have been doing for the last 3 years. The original was filled with a anchovy mousse, when you broke through the paper thin crispy tempura it would come running out as a liquid filled with bubbles. This together with the Kalamata olive oil was my perfect idea of a flavor combination as it was full power without loosing any of the subtle flavors.

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A product we use a lot of and also eat a lot of here in Spain is the Sea Urchin.

For me it has the most Umami flavor of any product available. It is on the same level as a very ripe cheese and gives that spike of flavor needed in some dishes.

The only part used is the roe and it is extracted by cutting the bottom with scissors and carefully removing the roe from the side with a small spoon.

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When we created the Ikea Swedish Tapas menu 6 months ago we started with a line of what the Spanish call “Leche Frita” which means Fried Milk. It is a very traditional dessert all over Spain and is very typical to eat at home.

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The debate on the Whole topic of the name “Molecular Gastronomy” has picked up some pace on eGullet, check out the link below to follow the comments.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/130365-molecular-gastronomy-vs-progressive-cuisine/page__gopid__1713845&#entry1713845

My next round of Swedish Tapas were tasted today in Ikea, all went VERY well with every one of them being approved! One of the more interesting developments which we made this time was the introduction of the Savory Ice cream cone……… We have been working on this concept for some time now and finally we have a result which is not sweet and tastes like bread spiced with Fennel and Anise seeds. But yet paper thin Read the rest of this entry »

First of all you will have to forgive me for the photo’s, but I could of come with a story about trying to keep the photos basic for a basic food story………

I am very often surprised with the amazing quality of the regional dishes of Spain, in every region and every town there is a different specialty on offer and it seems they are all claiming to be the best at it. Read the rest of this entry »

As you know (and if you don’t, shame on you for not reading) we were doing a collaboration dinner with Carlo Cracco in Milan 3 weeks ago. During our time in Milan we ate a wonderful dinner in 2 star Michelin Ristorante Cracco (http://www.ristorantecracco.it/)  which we were lucky enough to be there in a time when they were changing the menu.

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I am sometimes writing topics on www.egullet.org, and I wrote one today which I thought might be interesting to also be debated on my blog. See the below topic.

Who is sick of the going back and forth debate regarding the name of our new cuisine?

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You can now find me on wikipedia!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Melonas

A couple of months ago I started making yogurt in my kitchen. I have been experimenting with all different types of milk which are available here in Spain including; Sheep’s milk, Goats milk and Cows milk.

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