Image via Wikipedia
Ferran Adrià, the famous spanish head Chef, closed his restaurant. He will reopen it in 2014 after transforming it as a foundation. Goals of the foundation will be the conservation of all the work done by the restaurant in the past and to become a center of Creativity.
The motto of the center of Creativity will be :
– There will be danger, freedom and creativity
– In consequence, there will be no time schedule, no bookings, no routines
“elBulliFoundation : Libertad para crear”
Chefs coming from all over the world will be selected to pass 6 months in the new spanish center and create every day after brainstorming.
Ferran Adriá is looking for new ways of thinking to be creative.
This video is a clear demonstration of how a team can achieve perfection. Each person is doing his best in order that each plate going out of the kitchen is a “0 defect” plate. Something to do with the Japanese master craftsman but in team. Fascinating.
To enjoy with the five sense…and here with two, more than nothing!
3 Comments
Add Yours →True craftmanship arises when the difference between dedication and obligation dissolves. Perfection is not a manic goal (it can be) but a form of showing respect to the work, the collegues, the customer / guest. What matters is the work, not the ego – be it the individual one or the group’s ego. Accordingly, creativity may be either in service of the ego or in the service of the work piece at hand. In my experience it’s not so much creativity that drives crews to perfection and achievement; it’s rather perfection and achievement that facilitates creativity. Only when we cultivate our skills can we come to the point where creativity rushes in and manifests itself in a piece of art, a piece work, a perfect plate. It is this kind of ethics that keeps people in the restaurant industry to work under very difficult and harsh conditions. It is this kind of spirit that keeps people going even when the regular shift is 14 hours a day (often without a break), with bad pay, and tremendous exhaustion. It’s what binds crews together through thick and thin and starts the bickering when someone deviates from this ethos and tries to unload his work onto other’s shoulders. This ethos can yield beautiful results, be it the work achieved, one’s sense of one’s own abilities, or the experience of solidarity, collegiality, and mutual respect. But it has an addictive side as well that, besides economic pressure, may result in inhumane pressure on employers. It’s here that perfection becomes fatal and creativity abusive. The balance is difficult to keep. (Most famous chefs are famous for their mistreatment of personnel as well.)
Ups, sorry, I meant "employees" not "employer" at the end.
Thanks for this comment Konrad. As you commented employees in this kind of "high-class" craft industry are dedicated to their work. They are free to stay or give up. They stay because it is rewarding. I agree too that perfection and achievement lead to creativity…with a dash of passion ;).??