Andoni Luis Aduriz

Rethinking the culinary experience: this is one of the keys to the appealing, yet complex culinary and existential universe of Andoni Luis Aduriz (Donostia-San Sebastián 1971), standard-bearer of challenging cuisine at its best. In a constant dialogue with the natural elements that surround him in his bastion at Mugaritz, Aduriz devises dishes that stem from intellectual considerations and express a marked personality. At his Mugaritz restaurant, atop a green hill just outside Errenteria (20 km / 24 miles from Donostia-San Sebastián), visitors note a perfect blend of rural and cosmopolitan influences: a traditional Basque farmhouse (caserío) containing a small, simply-designed dining-room served by a very international team. The garden grows the herbs, flowers and vegetables that are served at their freshest in the restaurant, as well as wild, local flora, and the whole area is wrapped in a mantle of silence and aromas, helping set the scene for a very unconventional chef. Poetry, philosophy, science, knowledge and nature all participate in the creation of a very personal concept: Andoni Luis Aduriz has gradually developed a new approach to the task of the restaurateur, which he has laid down in the prologue of Clorofilia, one of the books launched by Gourmandia. 

Poetry, reflection and cuisine

These reflections and conclusions evolved in the mind of Andoni throughout his years as apprentice and have finally come to the surface in his Mugaritz restaurant. Before it was opened in 1998, Andoni worked in several of Spain's most influential kitchens. First he studied at the Hospitality School in Donostia-San Sebastián, where his teachers included Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Subijana . In 1993, he went to elBulli, where he spent two years, ending up as sous-chef to Ferran Adrià. In 1996, he was appointed head chef for Martín Berasategui in Lasarte with whom he established a very fruitful professional relationship which was to lead, in 1998, to Mugaritz, Andoni's hilltop refuge. One of his hallmarks at the start was the creation of dishes using just two or three ingredients. What might seem excessively simple in fact involved a complex process of preparation, adding intellectual touches and details. The idea was, in the words of the chef, "to keep diners awake and alive throughout, so that they never know what to expect from the next dish". So, complexity in the process and minimalism in the choice of products. Andoni conceives cuisine as going beyond the four walls of the restaurant. Customers should enjoy with all five senses, and he adds another: imagination plus evocation. This Basque chef talks openly about one of his aspirations. "I dream of a restaurant with 25 individual tables, where nothing, not even conversation, can distract the diners from the world of sensations we offer them". Meanwhile, in addition to managing the Mugaritz team, Andoni travels the world in response to invitations to gastronomic meetings and events. Unceasing creativity.

A challenging personality

Andoni and his Mugaritz have no intention to slow down on the road towards achieving their real goal: "We want to steal our diners' hearts”. In 2010, Andoni Luis Aduriz suffered one of the greatest setbacks in his career. In the early hours of the morning there was a fire in the kitchen at Mugaritz (at first thought to be caused by a short circuit) and years and years of hard work, study and dedication went up in smoke. They were bound to come out of this situation much stronger, as neither their spirit nor their talent had been consumed by the flames. And that was exactly what happened.

In recent years, Antoni Luis Aduriz and his team have continued in their quest to create experiences that transcend mere gastronomy, aiming to take the diner out of their comfort zone. This includes "Invisible" Dishes that play with perception, using transparent or nearly invisible components to challenge diners' senses. Aduriz also utilizes lesser-known or unconventional ingredients, sometimes sourced from unexpected places. Among his most groundbreaking creations are the thought-provoking breast milk course or the edible ‘skin’ made with psyllium and cider. Pushing the limits of the act of eating towards the future.