El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

It's like Star Trek futuristic space food-porn!

I saw this Documentary on a streaming service one time and they removed it. Once I saw the dvd being sold online, I immediately bought it. It features how a legendary chef runs this highly exclusive and creative restaurant. Thats all I wanna say about the documentary without running the experience of watching it for yourself. I recommend this film for all foodies and non foodies alike.

I am a serious foodie and I read a lot of food literature, and try to see a lot of food movies. One terrific foodie movie is about the Japanese sushi chef Jiro. This documentary on El Bulli - to be honest, was boring because it really had no narrative structure. I don't know much about the chef, his story, the story of the restaurant. In fact, that is what this really lacks - a good story. It shows what goes on in the kitchen, some interesting stuff about how they think about their menus or what they try to do to remain creative. I guess the idea is to pretend that we are there like a fly on the wall, but unlike the fly, I need some focus. Not worth watching in my opinion, but I have always wanted to eat at the restaurant just for the experience but I believe it is now closed. Instead see "Kings of Pastry", "Jiro" or the documentary on the Bocus D'or (so interesting).

If you are a real foodie, chef, and someone involved in the business of food you might like this. If you are expecting a Gordon Ramsey or Bourdain style documentary then you will be disappointed. You will not learn how to cook any of what legendary chef, Ferran Adrià, makes at the now retired El Bulli restaurant. The documentary starts with the closing of his restaurant for the season then turns into a dialogue between chefs on the creativity and science of the creation of new dishes. You are like a fly on the wall. Jose Andres operates arguably the most advanced kitchen in the world, very interesting to see how everything comes together, but this film won't be for everyone

This dvd offers amazing insight into the creative process of Ferran Adria. I was first introduced to his work through watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations episode in season 7. This video is not so much about recipes as it is about ideology and technique. Very inspiring and makes you want to create. This illustrates the difference between a cook and an innovative forward thinking chef. Uber respect for Ferran and his process!

I was really excited to see this film. I am a foodie and have read about the famous and (fabled) El Bulli and the eccentric owner and chef Ferran Adria. I love the inner working of restaurants and all that jazz.The first thing I noticed was that the music and the cinematography was off-putting. Very self-conscious, dramatic kind of stuff.... I know it was attempting to be arty, but it came across as annoying, too slow, and frankly, boring. It made me want to fast-forward.The other thing is, I didn't see any earth-shattering ideas here. Yes, I realize he is the father of modern methods (such as using liquid nitrogen and encapsulating oils and sauces) but now that we have seen all this and more on Food Network - and more excitingly, mind you- it just came off as pretentious and... boring.My favorite 2 parts are 1) Adria is dining on his Chef's creations-- a course after course affair-- he is gulping the food so fast it seems like he wouldn't be able to taste it! And a customer, I am assuming, passes by him and looks at him, starstruck, and Adria just goes on guzzling, completely ignoring the guy.and2) Adria "creates" a cocktail -- off the cuff it seems-- of Oil (yes OIL, as in Olive Oil) and plain water. He orders the waiter to bring it out to his table. The waiter almost seems incredulous, like You want me to serve these people OIL and WATER and pass it off as a cocktail? Hilarious.My take is, this guy is basically a modern-day snake oil salesman passing off BS like Oil and Water cocktails and inedible stuff like "pine needles" to people who care about appearances and think they are being cool spending God Knows How Much on a meal. Good for them. Me, I'm sticking with food that actually tastes good. And movies that are Good. This one just isn't.

Proved to me that, even as a scientist, I do not have the patience to perfect a dish like is shown in this documentary. Amazing! Not exactly like those two silly guys who visit lots of restaurants and just say Yum. Details details details. OMG. Can you stand to see such details??

This film shows a really interesting side of El Bulli which I haven't actually seen elsewhere: the off-season. The restaurant closes for half the year and the chefs retreat to the lab in Barcelona. The film shows the experimentation and the creative process. Overall, the film was very enjoyable.