‘We play with food, but we play fair, like Bruce Lee’. These are the words of Albert Adrià (L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, 1969), the younger brother of Ferran Adrià, who long ago freed himself from this fraternal label to fly solo and very high. Today, he is an influential figure in the competitive and combative world of gastronomy, where he continues to ‘strike’ as a global benchmark. He proved this once again at Madrid Fusión 2026, where the chef of the two-Michelin-starred Enigma restaurant asserted himself as one of the greats, beginning his presentation by looking in the Mirror of Bruce Lee - he started with a video of the legendary martial arts star - and without saying a single word about pastry.

‘They give me awards and they want me to retire’, said the chef ironically, looking back on four decades of extensive experience.

He showed some of his creations at Enigma, playing with the sea and the land, and referring to his time at El Bulli. ‘The fun thing about creative cooking is knowing when the dish is finished. The difficult thing is not to start, but to finish’, he said, before tackling some of his preparations.

‘He was at the heart of El Bulli for many years, and at the end of Madrid Fusión he will be proclaimed the chef of the year in Europe’, anticipated José Carlos Capel, the creator of the competition. The ‘indefinable’ Adrià treasures ‘an immense wealth of knowledge that turns the simplest things into wonders that touch the heart’. ‘He creates haute cuisine with very basic resources’, he summarised.

Knowledge

‘There is so much talk about creativity that it seems as if we are all inventing dishes every day, but what we are doing is recreating. Reviewing the knowledge that gives a very good approach’, says this veteran chef, who has 4,000 recipes in his cookbook. ‘I'm fearful; my priority is that the customer finishes the dishes and likes them. A good slap is the best solution you can give’.

Among them, he cooked a raspberry purée on a tapioca leaf, imitating the shape of a piquillo pepper that had been microwaved. ‘It's a succession of hydration and dehydration that could be presented as a “raspberry mochi”’, he said.

Sea cucumbers and cod skin were the ingredients for his second recipe. A faux ray - ‘although I don't like to call it that’ - with black Canarian potatoes, chicken broth, matcha sauce, and seasonal mushrooms.

He then cooked a hare, a game dish he had already tried at the legendary Bulli in 2010. Marinated in brandy and red wine the day before, he browned it to obtain a toasted tone to serve it with hare consommé, black truffle topping, and consommé jelly.

Tear peas were the star of his third preparation, presenting them in a pod with a spinach and sorrel sauce, that gives them a delicate touch of acidity.

After travelling to a handful of cities and restaurants in Europe and America, the youngest of the Adriàs is now immersed in new projects and collaborations, such as the ADMO restaurant in Paris, a pop-up space lasting only 100 days alongside masters such as Alain Ducasse, Romain Meder, and Jessica Préalpato.

Albert Adrià worked at elBulli between 1985 and 2008, where he oversaw pastry and held the role of creative director. In 2013, he joined the board of trustees of the elBullifoundation, created by his brother Ferran. In 2006, before leaving the restaurant in Cala Montjoi, he opened the Inopia Classic Bar in Barcelona, a pioneering establishment in the “gastrobar” concept. Between 2011 and 2017, he also opened seven restaurants in Barcelona (41º, Tickets, Pakta, Bodega 1900, Niño Viejo, Hoja Santa, and Enigma) as part of a global project featuring different gastronomic concepts under the generic name of elBarri.

After signing a creative partnership with Ferran Adrià and Le Cirque du Soleil for the Heart Ibiza project, he opened 50 Days by Albert Adrià in London, a pop-up restaurant in the luxurious GL Café Royal Hotel. This initiative led to Cakes & Bubbles, a dessert restaurant specialising in pastries and sparkling wines. In 2019, he opened Mercado Little Spain in New York, in partnership with José Andrés.

In addition to the many accolades for his restaurants, Albert Adrià received the National Gastronomy Award in 2018, and was named the world's best pastry chef in 2015 by The World's 50 Best Restaurants list.