M.I.T.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private, coeducational research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing 32 academic departments,^[3] with a strong emphasis theoretical, applied, and interdisciplinary scientific and technological research. MIT is one of two private land-grant universities as well as a sea-grant and space-grant university.

MIT was founded by William Barton Rogers in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of America. Although based upon European models of an institute of technology, MIT’s founding philosophy of “learning by doing” made it an early pioneer in the use of laboratory instruction,^[4] undergraduate research, and progressive architectural styles. As a federally funded research and development center during World War II, MIT scientists developed defense-related technologies that would later become integral to computers, radar, and inertial guidance. After the war, MIT continued to have a high profile throughout the Space Race and Cold War and its reputation expanded beyond its core competencies in science and engineering into the social sciences including economics, linguistics, political science, and management.

MIT’s endowment and annual research expenditures are among the largest of any American university.^[5] MIT graduates and faculty are noted for their technical acumen (63 Nobel Laureates and 29 MacArthur Fellows^[6] as of October 2006), entrepreneurial spirit (a 1997 report claimed that the aggregated revenues of companies founded by MIT affiliates would make it the twenty-fourth largest economy in the world),^[7] and irreverence (the popular practice of constructing elaborate pranks, or hacking, often has anti-authoritarian overtones).

Research accomplishments

In electronics, magnetic core memory, radar, single electron transistors, and inertial guidance controls were invented or substantially developed by MIT researchers. Harold Eugene Edgerton was a pioneer in high speed photography. Claude E. Shannon developed much of modern information theory and discovered the application of Boolean logic to digital circuit design theory.

In the domain of computer science, MIT faculty and researchers made fundamental contributions to cybernetics, artificial intelligence, computer languages, and public-key cryptography. Richard Stallman founded the GNU Project and Free Software Foundation while at the AI lab (now CSAIL). Tim Berners-Lee established the W3C at MIT in 1994. Popular technologies like X Window System, Kerberos, Zephyr, and Hesiod were created for Project Athena in the 1980s.

MIT physicists have been instrumental in describing subatomic and quantum phenomena like elementary particles, electroweak force, Bose-Einstein condensates, superconductivity, fractional quantum Hall effect, and asymptotic freedom as well as cosmological phenomena like cosmic inflation.

MIT chemists have discovered number syntheses like metathesis, stereoselective oxidation reactions, synthetic self-replicating molecules, and CFC-ozone reactions. Penicillin and Vitamin A were also first synthesized at MIT.

MIT biologists have also been recognized for their discoveries and advances in RNA, protein synthesis, apoptosis, gene splicing and introns, antibody diversity, reverse transcriptase, oncogenes, and phage resistance. MIT researchers discovered the genetic bases for Lou Gehrig’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Eric Lander was one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project.

MIT economists have been recognized for their contributions to system dynamics, financial engineering, neo-classical growth models, and welfare economics. Fundamental financial models like the Modigliani-Miller theorem and Black-Scholes equation were likewise developed in part at MIT.

Noted alumni

Many of MIT’s over 110,000 alumni and alumnae have had considerable success in scientific research, public service, education, and business. As of October 2006, 27 MIT alumni have won the Nobel prize and 37 have been selected as Rhodes Scholars.^[124]

Alumni currently in American politics and public service include Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, New Hampshire Senator John E. Sununu, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, MA-1 Representative John Olver, CA-13 Representative Pete Stark. MIT alumni in international politics include former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi, and former Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.

MIT alumni founded or co-founded many notable companies, such as Intel, McDonnell Douglas, Texas Instruments, 3Com, Qualcomm, Bose, Raytheon, Koch Industries, Rockwell International, Genentech, and Tyco International.

MIT alumni have also led other prominent institutions of higher education, including the University of California system, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University, Tufts University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Tecnológico de Monterrey, and Purdue University.^[125]

More than one third of the United States’ manned spaceflights have included MIT-educated astronauts, among them Buzz Aldrin (Sc. D XVI ’63), more than any university excluding the United States service academies.^[126]

http://web.mit.edu/

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Charcuterie

Salamella Mantovana è una salsiccia di carni suine (magro di spalla, grasso morbido di rifilatura di pancetta e prosciutto) macinate, salate, condite con aglio e pepe e insaccate in budelli preparati in filze. Lunga circa 15 centimetri, con diametro di 4, pesa dai 150 ai 200 grammi; è morbida al tatto, ha sapore gustoso di carne fresca, vago profumo di aglio, colore rosso rubino. Si vende freschissima e si consuma cotta, ai ferri o nel tegame con il vino bianco e aromi (mai lessata), oppure, dopo averla sminuzzata con le mani o con un coltello, come condimento per il riso alla pilota. It is a pork meat sausage (shoulder lean, soft fat from bacon and ham trimming) which gets minced, salted, and seasoned with garlic and pepper, and packed into bowels prepared in strings. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Prosciutto San Daniele Così come esiste e viene spesso citato lo «spartiacque dell’olio di oliva» (per rappresentare lo sviluppo della civiltà mediterranea che si specchia nella cultura–coltura dell’olio di oliva), un’analoga esercitazione antropologica ed economica può essere effettuata per il prosciutto crudo. E si scopre che il prosciutto rappresenta un autentico legame storico-culturale-economico per l’intera Europa continentale, procedendo la sua affermazione produttiva dalla Penisola Iberica all’Italia, alla Francia, a tutta l’Europa centro-occidentale. Se stringiamo l’obiettivo su San Daniele, dopo averlo aperto sull’Europa e sull’Italia, capiamo subito il perché di questa straordinaria peculiarità. Il colle di San Daniele è morenico, situato a pochi passi dalle prime alture delle Prealpi, lambito alla base dal corso del fiume Tagliamento. Aria fredda in arrivo da nord – nelle giornate serene si intravvede dalla cima del colle l’inizio del Canal del Ferro, che conduce a Tarvisio lungo la vecchia strada romana – aria calda in arrivo dall’Adriatico (35 km in linea d’aria – anche il mare si vede distintamente dal colle nelle belle giornate) ed entrambe mixate dal corso del fiume, che fa da conduttore e da «climatizzatore» naturale. Fondo ghiaioso e con ottimo drenaggio di umidità (appunto morenico) e ventilazione garbata ma costante, riproducono le condizioni ideali, da «manuale», per la stagionatura della carne. E lo sapevano bene i Celti, primi utilizzatori del sale per conservare la carne di maiale e grandi consumatori di quest’ultima, che hanno lasciato in Friuli evidenti tracce della loro permanenza in epoca pre-romana. Quegli stessi Celti la cui cultura permea l’intera «Padania», popolo relativamente stanziale, tendenzialmente poco bellicoso ed «agricolo». Essi gettarono le fondamenta di quella straordinaria cultura rurale che i romani, più tardi, si guardarono bene dall’estirpare e che, anzi, incoraggiarono (utilizzandola sapientemente e con piena soddisfazione). Il Friuli è terra celtica per antonomasia e la posizione di San Daniele ne fece un insediamento importante, posto com’è il colle a cavallo di passaggi obbligati verso le terre del nord. Se non si vogliono considerare le vestigia di antichissimi «castellieri» celtici sparsi ovunque nel circondario (il «castelliere» è una tipica costruzione celtica, a mo’ di torre di guardia), il più antico insediamento sandanielese è romano, del 1° secolo dopo Cristo. Una «villa» posta esattamente in cima al colle, dove ha avuto inizio ogni fase significativa della storia locale. E i romani conoscevano già bene il prosciutto, se a Roma l’antica strada dei mercanti (oggi via Panisperna) era appunto intitolata al «panis» (pane) ed alla «perna» («perna sicca»: il prosciutto, per l’appunto) e se sul cippo funerario di un macellaio, ritrovato a Portogruaro (VE), fa bella mostra di sé il simulacro di un autentico prosciutto di San Daniele, con il suo bravo zampino. In buona sostanza, gli antichi avevano sperimentato il fatto che la poca umidità, il buon arieggiamento ed il clima delle colline pedemontane consentivano di conservare meglio la carne e che, anzi, la miglioravano. Avevano così inventato la stagionatura, che non è semplice conservazione, ma un fenomeno molto più complesso, per molti versi quasi miracoloso, se si considera che avviene esclusivamente sulla base di fenomeni assolutamente naturali, nel cui ambito l’unico «artifizio» è il trattamento iniziale con il sale. Ed è questa la ragione per la quale San Daniele – con il suo colle che spunta dalla pianura friulano-veneta come ultima barriera naturale davanti alle Alpi – è diventata famosa per il suo prosciutto, dono della magica saggezza dei primi «salatori» della storia, che ne apprezzarono il «micro-clima». Il termine «micro-clima» sembra suggerito dalla lettura a posteriori del fenomeno: in realtà, da che esiste cronaca, non si ha notizia di attività produttive in Friuli che abbiano avuto per obiettivo la stagionatura del prosciutto in altre località diverse da San Daniele. Né in epoca paleo-storica, né in epoca recente: è difficile pensare che si tratti solo di un caso, ma per ritrovare analoghe esperienze produttive bisogna raggiungere l’Alta Carnia dove, a Sauris, esiste una tradizione di prosciutto affumicato. Ma si tratta evidentemente di una commistione, su cui pesa la tradizione dello speck, le cui terre d’origine sono in quel punto culturalmente vicinissime. San Daniele segue il ciclo della storia di Aquileia e in epoca altomedioevale diviene feudo del Patriarca (Vescovo-Conte ed elettore imperiale) che – memore della saggezza degli antichi – destina sul colle la sua residenza estiva e si merita per secoli corvées copiose a suon di «paia di prosciutti». Da feudo patriarcale San Daniele seppe evolvere in «libero comune» e dovette alla fine confrontarsi con l’ingombrante invadenza dell’espansionismo veneziano, conquistando periodi di relativa indipendenza anche grazie all’invio al Doge o al «protettore» veneto di turno di adeguati carichi di prosciutti. Risparmiata dalle guerre e dalle invasioni, San Daniele conobbe periodi di grande splendore economico e culturale per uscire definitivamente dall’orbita veneziana solo dopo il trattato di Campoformido (1797). Regalata all’Austria assieme a tutta la «Patria del Friuli», conobbe da ultimo il saccheggio dei francesi del generale Massena che, manco a dirlo, fecero largo bottino di prosciutti (e di preziosissimi codici miniati sottratti alla Biblioteca Guarneriana). http://www.prosciuttosandaniele.it/ http://www.dallava.com/pd.htm

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Jamón serrano Jamón serrano (literally sierra (mountain) ham) is a dry-cured Spanish ham, which is generally served raw in thin slices, similar to the Italian prosciutto. A foreleg prepared (and eaten) in the same manner is called paleta.The fresh hams are trimmed and cleaned, then stacked and covered with salt for about two weeks in order to draw off excess moisture and preserve the meat from spoiling. The salt is then washed off and the hams are hung to dry for about six months. Finally, the hams are hung in a cool, dry place for six to eighteen months, depending on the climate, as well as the size and type of ham being cured. The drying sheds (secaderos) are usually built at higher elevations, which is why the ham is sometimes called mountain ham. The highest quality, pata negra (literally black hoof), which only accounts for about five percent of total ham production, is made from the black Iberian pig (cerdo ibérico), range fed and fattened on acorns in cork oak groves along the southern border between Spain and Portugal. The large majority of hams in the marketplace are derived from white pigs, i.e. Large White, Landrace, or Duroc strains and crosses. There are many producers of Spanish hams but the level of quality can be judged by the following: -The type of pig -The way the pig has been fed -The part of the pig used to make the ham -The way the ham is cured The four major quality categories of ham are as follows, from highest to lowest quality: -Jamón Iberico de Bellota (also known as Jamón Iberico de Montanera): Free-range, acorn-fed Iberian  pigs -Jamón Iberico de Recebo: Acorn, pasture and compound-fed Iberian pigs -Jamón Iberico: (also known as Jamón de Pata Negra). Compound-fed Iberian pigs. -Jamón Serrano: (also known as Jamón Reserva, Jamón Curado and Jamón Extra). Compound-fed   white pigs. One can buy Serrano ham by the slice, by the kilo or simply buy the entire leg. Provided it is well cared-for, there should be no difference in quality between a slice of serrano or a whole ham.

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http://www.speck.it/

   

Special Timepieces

The URWERK The URWERK 103.05 Limited Edition: a platinum timepiece in a limited edition of only 50 pieces.With the exclusive 103.05, URWERK further extend the concept of opening the ingenious orbiting satellite complication to the heavens. The large targa-shaped crystal is enhanced with the addition of revealing elliptical windows each side of the streamlined body – making for a more ethereal looking watch. With a body both innovative and elegant, the 103.05 deserves the royal treatment and platinum – the king of noble metals – was a natural choice for the case. The choice of metal, while quickly made, was much slower to realize. URWERK’s intricate case shape is incredibly difficult to machine in gold – let alone a material more than twice as tough and demanding. In fact, a fundamental question was whether such a complex case design could even be crafted in platinum at all. Many, many, months of painstaking work by one of the industries’ finest case makers finally resulted in a resounding yes! Machining URWERK’s Platinum cases The three windows lay bare the 103.05’s high-tech complication and materials. These include black PVD coated grade 2 titanium for both the hour satellites and orbital cross. Turning the watch over reveals the secrets of the grade 5 titanium Control Board. This houses the Chrono Meter with its dual 15 minute and seconds dial for maximum precision when setting the time; the 43-hour Power Reserve indicator; and the Fine Tuning screw which allows the user the possibility of adjusting the watch’s timing +/- 30 seconds per day. Shared DNA with other precious platinum watches in the URWERK collection is seen with the arc of natural metal perlage tracing the curve of the 103.05’s minute chapter. An exquisite palladium outline traces the perimeter of the targa crystal, highlighting the complexity of the form against the crenellated platinum case. Bright yellow SuperLumiNova makes an audacious statement by day; however, at night it emits a rich blue glow reminiscent of the cockpit instrumentation in a powerful fast jet. The URWERK Limited Edition 103.05 – timekeeping never looked so good! URWERK 103.05 Limited Edition of 50 pieces Case: 950 Platinum, dimensions: 50mm x 36mm x 13.5mm. Movement: Caliber 3.03, manual wind, 43-hour power reserve, 21,600bph/3Hz. Unique triple base plate in ARCAP P40 black PVD coated. Hour satellites and orbital cross in grade 2 titanium. Control Board: Grade 5 titanium, power reserve indicator, 15 minute and seconds dials for precise Time setting, user adjustable fine-tuning screw.

Quenttin from JacobThe Quenttin watch is made by the most well-known watchmaker and jeweler in the world of hip-hop singers – Jacob “The Jeweler” or Jacob Co.This timepiece has everything an expensive watch needs, i.e. a sapphire crystal, precious metal bezel and cage, and it is produced in a limited edition. The quantity of the watches produced depends on the material the particular variant is made of: platinum or white gold.The Jacob Co. Quenttin watch has a vertical mechanical movement (40 jewels) with an escapement for manual winding; however it has an external access to the tourbillion for fine-tuning. It features also a Swiss anchor incorporated in the tourbillion cage. The dial (if I’m allowed to call this a ‘dial’) has neither hands nor an electronic display. It is made in the style of cassette players of the 60′s-70′s, which had a mechanical counter. In this wrist watch the wheel measure the time and not the length of the tape. This amazing little engine is powered by 7 barrels and it is displayed through vertical rolls. This power supply is enough to keep this watch going for 31 days, i.e. 744 hours. The watch is covered by a fine but strong water-resisting glass, which can withstand depths down to 30 meters.The bezel and the cage are made of white, rose gold or platinum (this depends on the model, as mentioned earlier) with some applications of carbon fiber on the side of the cage.Depending on the type of precious metal of the Quenttin watch, it includes 99 pieces for models in white gold, 18 pieces in rose gold and 18 pieces in platinum too.I haven’t managed to find out the price, but be sure it should be very expensive. All the jewelry and precious metal will not be sold as a discount.   http://www.jacobandco.com

Cabestan from Jean-François Ruchonnet and Vianney Halter I have chosen to present these two watches together, because I find they are like two brothers: the Quenttin is more like the younger brother. Cabestan resembles the Quenttin, but more with the fact that it used vertical time displaying and not the ordinary horizontal one.At the creation of this timepiece two famous watchmakers have taken part: Vianney Halter and Jean-François Ruchonnet. The latter took part in designing the famous Monaco V4 concept watch.Cabestan doesn’t have a dial too, nor hands. Everything is shown with wheels and barrels. The functions of this watch are a tourbillon, power reserve. It is powered by a mechanical movement and has a manual winding. The watch is equipped with a special winch for adjusting the time. There is actually much more to explain about this timepiece, but I don’t think I’d understand everything I’d write, so I’ll skip it…There will be produced several variations of these watches: in platinum – 15 pieces, in yellow gold – 15 pieces, in white gold – 50 pieces, and in rose gold – 55 pieces; thus overall – 135 pieces. The price of this little wonder will be around 220,000 dollars so you can find yourself 5 more jobs and start starving if you want to have

Hamilton Ventura ChronoThis exciting watch from the modern Hamilton Watch Company is a beautifully styled re-interpretation of the classic 1957 Ventura. The solid stainless steel case houses a three-register quartz chronograph with radiant-cut subsidiary tracks on a matte black dial, and a discreet calendar window at 4. This definitely qualifies as a stunning adaptation of the original, combining the amazing avant-garde styling of the 1957 Ventura with the latest in modern technology.   http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/

O-ring Digi Creating something completely new and innovative from Philippe S+arck, this digital style displays the time in a unique fashion. In a ring shaped display, the hours are displayed as numbers while the minutes are displayed in segments. As time goes by, the segments build making a complete ring every hour. The center is completely see through and the pushed is located on the case back to create this sleek styling. The strap is a grey, adjustable PU just as the original S+arck watches. Measures 41mm x 11mm.  http://www.fossil.com/

Bodum

		Bodum, Inc., (also known as BODUM) is a tableware and kitchenware company founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1944 by Peter Bodum.Besides being known for the aesthetic quality of their products, Bodum is recognized as a leading maker of French presses, vacuum coffee brewers (the “Santos”), and double-walled beverage glasses made of borosilicate glass.→
→Focused on the design philosophy that “good design doesn’t have to be expensive,” the brand name Bodum has become synonymous with simple, affordable, elegantly-designed housewares. Founded in Copenhagen in 1944, the company is now recognized as a global design leader,operating in 17 countries with over 50 Bodum stores.
When Bodum took over a small clarinet factory in Normandy in 1982. It was not because of the fine orchestra clarinets they were producing but because of a relatively unknown coffee maker called the Chambord which they, by coincidence, produced as well. We combined the skills of these Normandy craftsmen with modern production, and the price became affordable to the many people who loved the taste of the coffee brewed in this unique coffee maker, later known as the French press coffee brewer. Thanks to Bodum and thanks to the increasing need for better coffee, the French press coffee maker became one of the most popular coffeemakers in the world. The design has not changed a bit from the original drawings, and we still make the Chambord with the same painstaking care and knowledge we learned from those proud craftsmen in windy Normandy. The ease of brewing… the delicious smell and taste of French roasted dark coffee have not changed, but the $19.95 price Bodum offers you today for a Chambord is no longer the price of the past.
Bodum was founded in 1944 by Peter Bodum inCopenhagen, Denmark, as a retailer of housewares from Danish manufacturers. The business was later expanded to include glassware from Easter Europe. By the 1950s, Bodum began developing its own products, collaborating with architects and industrial and graphic designers. These collaborations evolved into Bodum developing its own design department, which would come to feature an in-house team of product designers, engineers, graphic designers, and architects. Eventually, Bodum would design, develop, and advertise its own products in-house.In 1958, Bodum introduced its first signature product to the retail market, the Santos coffeemaker. The vacuum brewing system is still sold by the company today.→		→In 1967, Peter Bodum died, leaving company operations to his wife, who ran the company until 1974, at which point the 26-year old Joegen Bodum joined her in the management of the company. The younger Bodum soon hired Carsten Joergensen, a teacher at the Danish School of Art in Copenhagen. Joergensen was put in charge of all facets of design at Bodum, including product design, advertising, corporate branding, and architecture.Later that year, Bodum began to incorporate what would become the company’s signature design language: simplicity, durability, and utility. This philosophy was expressed most directly through the Bodum french press, which was introduced the same year.
Winner of two prestigious design awards: the 2006 iF Design award and the 2005 Formland design award, Bodum’s new Bora Bora Double Wall Tea Press will keep your tea hotter for longer. Handmade of borosilicate glass, the double wall construction has thermal properties that keep tea hot for a much longer period of time while remaining cool to the touch and eliminating the need for a trivet. Incorporating Bodum’s patented tea press system, the Bora Bora allows you to brew your tea until it reaches your desired strength; then with the press of a plunger, completely stop the brewing process. The infuser eliminates “stewed” or bitter tea by separating the tea leaves from the water. With an elegant sphere-shaped body — beautifully sculpted to characterize traditional British design — and a chrome lid to complement every table setting, the Bora Bora combines beauty and function in the most exquisite way. The Bora Bora also features a dishwasher safe stainless steel tea infuser, which allows for a continuous flow of water through the tea and with proper use will last a lifetime!
		Double wall Espresso Cups – made from Mouth Blown Glass.  The double wall protects fingers from burning and the Bodum design is outstanding.  These cups are beautiful to drink from.
http://www.bodum.com/

El Bulli

 

Ten years ago, you had to go to El Bulli to sample dishes like avocado foam or apple caviar. But that was before Ferran Adrià of El Bulli transformed the culinary landscape of Spain and the world, bringing science and a playful sensibility to food and dining. Now his experiments are re-interpreted in countless dishes spanning almost every culture. This spring a peak into the laboratory revealed what could be the next culinary invention to grace diners’ plates: fruit pasta and solid yogurt balls.The Taller, or workshop, is located 160 kilometers away from El Bulli’s dining room in a touristy, pedestrian street in the heart of Barcelona. For six months of the year, the staff gathers here to research and plan the next year’s menu, a deliberate, step-by-step process that takes the menu from theory to reality. Thousands of people, many of whom probably long for a reservation at the restaurant, walk by the dark, unmarked door every day; blink and you’ll miss it. Although El Bulli has been churning out innovative cuisine for well over a decade, it is only within the last eight years that the Taller has been up and running in Barcelona. The space was developed for experimentation, theory development and menu planning, but it is above all a kitchen built for no-holds-barred creativity, with the brains behind it to take advantage of it. Every detail of El Bulli’s 30-course tasting menu is meticulously planned, from aperitifs to dessert presentation. Before the restaurant opened for the season this year in late March, the laboratory’s entry way was strewn with dozens of prototypes for plating. The restaurant has its own industrial designer, and these shapes, made of materials as diverse as paper, cardboard, aluminum, mesh, foil, and Lucite, were being considered for the next year. Paper plates for catering or serving in the restaurant were made to echo the shape of kitchen molds. Large gold foil wrappers encircled chocolate balls the size of cantaloupes, meant to look like giant Ferrero Rocher hazelnut candies. Pastry Chef Albert Adrià gingerly picked one up and turned it over to show that it was hollow. “Maybe we’ll fill it with smoke and smash it at the table,” he said, adding that it, like everything else there, may or may not make it onto the menu. The laboratory’s kitchen wasn’t extraordinarily large, but half of one whole wall was filled with tiny bottles containing spices and herbs. A workspace held bottles of flavor essences made in Paris – from mandarin to lavender. A chef worked at the corner of a Charvet range combining yogurt powder and starch so that they form a solid hemisphere when baked for a short period of time in a mold. “Everything we can, we test with water first,” said Chef Albert Adrià. “If it works, then we can add flavor.” The final process of the menu-making, though, doesn’t even take place in the kitchen but in a conference room crowded with paperwork and spreadsheets. The small conference room has vaulted ceilings and stained-glass windows, and the tables and walls are covered with sheets exploring the theory behind the menu, binders containing logs of kitchen experiments and charts depicting different cooking methods. It looked almost like a political war room during the height of campaign season, but these chefs were campaigning on behalf of innovative cuisine. Each successful experiment is tasted by Ferran, photographed and written up. The best are further developed with garnishes and side dishes. Still, just weeks before the restaurant was to open, they did not know what would be on next year’s menu. “The first couple of weeks we stick with the old menu,” said long-time El Bulli collaborator Chef Oriol Castro. Then they slowly tweak it, adding in new courses and elements, patiently ironing out the kinks. It is only a few weeks into the new season that the entire new menu will have emerged from the fray. That first week in March the laboratory experimented with fruit pasta, but Chef Castro wouldn’t give too many details so that diners can remain in suspense about the new menu. He hinted that they might be akin to fruit roll-ups. And as he, Ferran and Albert all rushed off to other interviews and appointments, the Taller still buzzed. All this work and dedication to food might seem extreme, but with more than 600,000 people vying for spots at the restaurant this season, and only 8,000 getting the nod, nothing less would cut it. Ferran Adrià Acosta is a Catalan chef born 14 May 1962 in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, is the famed head chef of El Bulli Restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava. Ferran Adrià began his culinary career in 1980 during his stint as a dishwasher at the Hotel Playafels in Catalonia, in the town of Castelldefels. The chef de cuisine at this hotel taught him about traditional Spanish cuisine. At 19 he was drafted into military service where he worked as a cook. In 1984, at the age of 22, Adrià joined the kitchen staff of the then-unknown El Bulli as a line cook. Eighteen months later, he became the head chef. Along with British chef Heston Blumenthal, Adrià is often associated with “molecular gastronomy,” although he does not consider his cuisine to be of this category. Molecular gastronomy melds science and technology with culinary practices and procedure, boldly experimenting with new technologies and unexpected textures and flavors. Adrià’s stated goal is to “provide unexpected contrasts of flavor, temperature and texture. Nothing is what it seems. The idea is to provoke, surprise and delight the diner.” This is also combined with a large dose of irony and a sense of humour making his dishes highly épatants. As he likes to say: “The ideal customer doesn’t come to El Bulli to eat but to have an experience,” an assertion widely mocked in Spain. El Bulli is only open from April to September. Adrià spends the other six months of the year perfecting recipes in his workshop, “El Taller,” in Barcelona. He is famous for his thirty course gourmet menu. He is best known for creating “culinary foam“, which in his research to enhance flavour proscribes cream and egg and is only made of the main ingredient and “air” (in a whipped cream maker equipped with N2O cartridges). Adrià’s foam creations include foamed espresso, foamed mushroom and foamed beet. Today he is considered one of the best chefs in the world and tops the European Restaurant Ranking.El Bulli has 3 Michelin stars and is regarded as one of the best restaurants in the Western world. In 2005 it was ranked second in the Restaurant Top 50, and it attained the top spot in 2006, displacing The Fat Duck in England. http://www.elbulli.com/

EL BULLI picture gallery »

Summer Pudding

Take advantage of the delicious berries in season in August and try out this recipe from Alastair Hendy’s Home Cook book

“Bread and berries as a pud,” says Alastair Hendy. “It may sound like no-I-don’t-want-to-go-there land, yet it’s one of those screamingly British out-of-sorts combinations that turns up trumps. Along with its winter twin, bread and butter pudding, it’s an absolute seasonal classic.“A summer pud should be slightly tart, for too jam-sweet and it’s cloying. Get it just right – as I’ve measured below – and it’s to-die-for. And no strawberries – a true summer pudding holds the later berries of summer only.“This pud must be made at least the day before, to give it time to set. Even the day before that is fine too. Serves six with some seconds. To make one for four, halve the quantities and use a 600ml pudding bowl.“And if you have any leftover, make a summer pud semifreddo (soft ice cream). Briefly pulse in a processor and add, ripple-like, to a tub of part-defrosted vanilla ice cream. Freeze again, and serve in scoops or slices. Ingredients 500g raspberries 500g mixed berries, such as redcurrants, blackcurrants, blueberries or blackberries 180g caster sugar 1 loaf thick-sliced white bread (a good one) Method Check over the punnets of fruit and turf out anything squashy. Next, using a fork, for speed and ease, strip the redcurrants and/or blackcurrants off their stalks. Then put these with all the other fruit into a pan, tip in the sugar, stir through and then stick on a gentle heat.As soon as the fruit begins to release its juices and all the sugar has dissolved, which won’t take long, then gently bubble together for about 4-5 minutes. The fruit will have given up lots of juice and should be swimming in it, yet should remain distinguishable and not be a mush. Now leave it to cool a little.Meanwhile, cut the crusts off the slices of bread.Next, strain off about half the juice into a dish (I do it through a sieve to keep the pips out), then dip a bread slice into it, so that one side becomes saturated with pink, then lay this in a 1.2 litre bowl (of the Pyrex pudding-bowl shape), so that its juice-soaked side hugs the side of the bowl. Do the same with the rest of the bread, overlapping the last slice of bread each time, to make a spiral arrangement. You’ll find that the overlap is greater at the base of the bowl – this is fine. Also the bread at this stage will not site snugly, but don’t fret, for as soon as you spoon in the berries and juice, the bread will flatten down and behave itself. Finish by placing a full slice of bread at the bottom. The thing to make sure of is that there aren’t any gaps – it doesn’t matter how higgledy-piggledy it all appears. Next, pile in the fruit with some of the juice, the blanket the top with more overlapping squares of bread, squishing their edges snugly within the surrounding perimeter of bread edges. You should have a good pool of juice and berries left over – to hang on to for serving. Fit a saucer over the dish so that the rim just fits inside the rim of the bowl, and squash it on, so that things squish out a bit, then weight it with something heavy, like a large can of food. Put in the fridge and leave to chill overnight. It needs time to set. To remove the pud, trim off any overhanging squished-out bits, then loosen the sides with a bendy knife. Invert on to a deep plate, and pour over the remaining berry juices. Eat sliced wedges with a ton of thick cream.