It would be fanciful to suggest that a restaurant could change the world, but it is fair to say that Chef Ferran Adriá changed the world for restaurant devotees. His famed establishment is elBulli, where bookings for a whole year would be taken on a single day. Restaurant Magazine judged elBulli to be Number One on its Top 50 list of the world's best restaurants for a record five times—in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Where as some kitchens at the pinnacle of their trade pride themselves on temperament and aggression, at Comerc24 the only thing effusing from the batterie de cuisine is a sense of immaculate precision.
Consequently, for the 8,000 diners that elBulli could squeeze in during its tightly prescribed opening times there would be a further two million telephone calls for table requests. But even at this elevated level of success, where the average cost of meal is 250EUR, the restaurant operated at a loss. Ferran Adriá announced he will be closing elBulli in 2012.
Of course, for his protégés any news of elBulli is good news…
Perhaps the best news of all is Comerç24 which subverts the hauteur of its alma mater with the alchemic creativity of his mentor into an elegantly modest restaurant with an open kitchen, prominent bar and unclothed tables unadorned with accoutrements. This is back street tapas for which Barcelona is famed, for with the avant-garde direction of Carles Abellán, a disciple of the famed Ferran Adriá of elBulli.
In essence, Comerç24 is dine and dash street food given the short sharp shock molecular gastronomic correction. It marries local traditions of cooking and excellent ingredients and the technical concepts and creativity of its proprietor chef. Housed in an old salting house in the regenerated El Born district, the dining room itself is bauhaus-inspired in gun-metal grey, punctuated with angular flourishes of red or yellow.
Amidst this stylishly sober mis en scene, serried ranks of scrupulously regimented dishes are marched out for a muster parade with the restaurant’s patrons. Abellán’s creations are less meals and more ready made art works which dazzle the senses and stand as victorious asides in the never-ending battle of form over function.
Where as some kitchens at pinnacle of their trade pride themselves on temperament and aggression, at Comerc24 the only thing effusing from the batterie de cuisine is a sense of immaculate precision. There is a hive mentality on display - everyone is instinctively fulfilling their tasks without even a hint of chaos.
What they are working on is their secret weaponry – spherifications. Basically, loving spoonfuls of concentrated natural flavours and glutens placed in a bath of – wait for it - calcium chloride. I know! While the majority of the foodie firmament is busying themselves with getting as close as they can to nature (René Redzepi’s Noma restaurant in Copenhagen goes so far to put soil on his menus), Comerc24 is cooking for rocket scientists.
While lesser mortals concern themselves with meat and two veg and filling bellies, the chefs here have left the trencherman behind and are blowing minds. Close up, the kitchen staff – or laboratory technicians if you like - exact tiny droplets of mixtures and allow them to fall into the bath. I’m told that the liquid quickly jellifies on the outside as the sodium alginate in the mixture reacts with the calcium chloride in the water, forming spheres with thin membranes just like an egg yolk.
Aiden Brooks, a chef who trained at Comerc24 explains, “if you were that way inclined you could actually create a false egg by cracking open the yolk, using the same technique.”
In fact he says, you could go further by making a yolk sphere “and then repeating the process with the egg whites but this time put the yolk sphere into the egg white in a much larger spoon and spherify the egg whites with the yolk sphere inside.”
It’s possible - Carles Abellán and his staff of genii have the technology, but why bother recreating eggs when there are far more interesting flavours and textures to experiment with? That’s the Comerc24 ethos in a nutshell…
Mind Blowing Decisions – Comerc24’s top 10 Menu must haves
- Filo, PARMA, lime and basil
Cigars of crisp wafer thin filo filled with a mousse of parmesan cheese flavoured with lime and basil. Sounds crazy, but nobody eats just one. - BANGKOK asparagus soup
Served in miniature teacups with a single pearly white spherification submerged at the bottom. At the first sip, this chilled broth immediately indicates its Thai influences with lemongrass and kaffir lime infusions. Roll the pearl in your mouth and the surface bursts to release of slightly sweet coconut milk. - MONKFISH with black sesame and black garlic
Arranged like gallery grade New York graffiti, the kitchen staff literally paints the plate with a jar of black sesame paste "ink." The seared monkfish, still translucent and briny, pairs perfectly with the nutty, savoury sesame scrawl. - SARDINES with orange and fresh wasabi
Slivers of sardines accompanied by fresh citrus segments updates the classic ceviche. The crunch of the crumble provides textural foil and mustard heat against the tender cold fish. - TUNA tartar
Raw tuna, lightly marinated in soy sauce topped with salmon roe – with the added component of egg yolk. Another classic re-imagined. The one dish that looks like it sounds, but tastes far, far better. - CONSOMME with egg, truffle and parmesan
Another work of art – this time by the medium of soup! A pyramid of contrasting spherifications - yellow being egg, brown being truffle, and white being parmesan rises like volcanic island in a miniature sea of truffle scented consommé. One to excite your sensory compass. - COD with romesco and carquinyolis
Another canvass – this time black slate decorated with bright orange romesco sauce over a relief of salted cod. Flakes. Carquinyolis, the Spanish version of biscotti gives a sweet crunch to the salt cod for the ultimate umami high. - duck RICE with foie
With a nod to both paella and risotto, duck stock is simmered to render each grain al dente. A quenelle of foie gras sits atop melting like ice cream. Proof in case it was needed that you can’t harbour designs on the culinary crown without foie gras. - CHIAVARI red mullet
That translucent disk in the middle of your plate? It’s solidified fish stock made from the bones of the red mullet. Add a single leaf of basil and garlic flower a couple of drops of sweet balsamic vinegar and your have a fish dish of wonderful simplicity and awesome complexity on the same tiny plate. - Natural NESTEA
The shot glass is the obligatory motif of the type of cuisine known as molecular gastronomy. And here we have orange coloured juice (white peach juice) with green foam (green tea), which the guest is gently nudged towards consume in one gulp. A Willy Wonka moment ensues with eyes widened and looks of awe. Bittersweet doesn’t quite sum it up – in fact, it would take one of Roald Dahl’s loquacious adjectives to really do it justice.
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