“Being number 1 in the kitchen means having a full restaurant and people liking what they eat.”

BarcelonaChef Albert Adrià confesses to feeling "mentally strong" because he was able to rest for a month between December and January, which allowed him to travel to Málaga and China, where he visited restaurants and observed that "we owe a great deal to France in terms of front-of-house service." In fact, he says, "Chinese restaurants either adapt to European standards or they won't be great restaurants because they don't know how to bring one dish to the next." In contrast, in China, they bring all the dishes to the table at once, without order, as if we were eating tapas. However, in China, "I've seen that a single dish can cost between 800 and 2,000 euros."

Changing the subject, we talk about Madrid Fusion, where this week he will receive the award for Best Chef in Europe 2026. "I know I said I didn't want to go to conferences, but now I have to go because people want to know about you, because we're at the peak of our careers." That's why he's going; also to collect the award. "Look, right now, Tristan and others on my team are preparing the presentation I'm going to give." In front of a computer screen, they're working on what Albert will explain, which focuses on the concept of creativity. "Everyone talks about creativity so casually, and it's not simple because having a creative workshop doesn't make you creative," just as having a good table doesn't make you a good writer, I tell him. And Adrià adds: "Being number one in the kitchen means having a full restaurant and people liking what they eat." And he returns to the concept with another statement: "I'd rather forget about creative thinking because I want a full restaurant and for people to like what they eat."

Unadorned, product-driven cuisine

The theme, the concept of creativity, is what has always given the Adrià brothers the most food for thought. Albert comments that "a creative person doesn't think about whether their work will please others, because a creative person has a vital need to express themselves." He wants his cuisine to be enjoyed, but he also doesn't want to serve chicken with pears. And somewhere between these two concepts is his tasting menu of thirty-one courses, with eight desserts, for two hundred and forty euros ("I haven't raised the price because of the two Michelin stars"). "My cuisine is about the product, and I'm not concerned with a style, nor do I want to defend it with words but with actions." He also doesn't like to call his cuisine "minimalist," as his brother Ferran has sometimes done ("who loves to organize everything"), because "minimalist, the adjective, can be confused with simplistic." And chef Albert Adrià insists: "I'm not worried about styles, but about the product, and the emotion it evokes, that's why I don't like to add decorative elements, garnishes, that don't contribute anything; on the contrary, they can make you confuse it with the main product you're eating."

This January, when Enigma reopened after its month-long holiday, the star ingredient is the "teardrop" peas, smaller than the peas we're used to, which are placed inside a large, elongated bean pod. The pea pod isn't eaten, hence the use of a tender bean pod, which is partially opened and placed inside the peas. It's one of the most visually and flavorfully surprising dishes.

"I'm also using sea urchin and duck, which I've never used before on the tasting menu." The sea urchin is another sublime dish, cooked with sobrasada, in a blend of reds, where the flavors of both merge perfectly. Regarding duck, Adrià says, "It's a complex and difficult animal to cook because it can be chewy if raw; unhealthy if overcooked, which is why I've done so many tests until I found the ideal duck." The duck dish he serves, with its tender, buttery meat, concludes the savory portion of the meal, because the next course is a pre-dessert: a duck flan. This dish blends savory and sweet flavors, one of the concepts that chef Albert Adrià enjoys exploring.

Moving beyond the menu, the chef reflects on how the end of the year went after receiving two Michelin stars. "As a direct result, I've found myself with more Catalan customers." Adrià is aware that in Barcelona he must compete "with some very good restaurants, like the three-Michelin-starred establishments in the city." Furthermore, "when Barcelonans go out to celebrate something special, they also think of Bodega de Can Roca. I used to be at the back of the queue for all these restaurants, and now I see that they're starting to put me on the list." As for foreigners, "I get Chinese and European customers, while in the summer we get more Asians." In the first week of March this year, there will be the Mobile World Congress, an important date for the restaurant, and for the restaurant industry in general. And right after that will come the Easter holidays.

Enigma has a team of forty-seven people; nine of whom are trainees, "who get paid," "who get paid." dishes and drinks, and chef Albert Adrià dreams of having about five more waiters. "With another five waiters, it will be the dream," he concludes.