Josep Bullich dies, historic chef of El Reno, L'Agut d'Avinyó, Via Veneto or La Dama

BarcelonaThe chef Josep Bullich has died in Barcelona at the age of 78. Born in Oliana (Alt Urgell) in 1948, he is a key figure in understanding the gastronomic quality leap experienced in Barcelona, as he was at the stoves of some of the city's most renowned restaurants: the Carballeira seafood restaurant, El Reno, L'Agut d'Avinyó, Via Veneto, and, at the end of his career, at the restaurant La Dama. In fact, it was thanks to him that Ramon Cabau achieved a Michelin star for his popular restaurant Agut d'Avinyó, where they served, among other dishes, cold soups and seasonal produce. He was also at Via Veneto when it achieved a star in 1974, an recognition that the establishment on Carrer Ganduixer still holds.

He started very young, at 15, and by 19 he was already at the refined restaurant Reno, under the orders of Antoni Julià. He was also precocious when he took charge of the Hotel Gal·la Placídia at just 25 years old. Known for relating concepts of philosophy to his dishes, he applied principles of psychoesthetics to what he served. The idea was that the environment (crockery, service, presentation of the dish) had a correlation with the psychological state and predisposed one to have a meal in a state of mental well-being. This level of refinement could be seen wherever he worked, especially in his last phase, at the restaurant La Dama, located in the modernist building Casa Sayrach on Avinguda Diagonal, where he retired in December 2014.

In the image shared by the family to announce his death, a phrase of his was reproduced as his last will: “We need people with craft to restore the splendor of Catalonia”.