In the fifties, the Germans Hans and Marketta Schilling arrived in Roses and fell in love with Montjoi cove. They bought land and built a building. Mrs. Schilling served meals and in June 1961 they asked for permits to build a mini golf course. The name chosen for his business was El Bulli, in honor of his French bulldogs, which are known as “bulli.” Years later, in 1983, Ferran Adrià joined as a chef and completely changed the direction of the business.
In 1990 he bought the business with Juli Soler. He turned elBulli into something unique, being considered the best restaurant in the world five times by Restaurant magazine and earning three Michelin stars. But doing so came at a personal cost. A very tall one. He gave up having children with Isabel Pérez Barceló, his wife.
In a 2022 interview with Vanitatis magazine, he stated that “I wanted to be a footballer, my idol was Johan Cruyff, and I was never interested in cooking or eating, I ate normal and I think that has been crucial in my career because I had no teachers and I questioned everything from the beginning, I always asked myself why this, why that, and from there my creative process was born.” But as the interview progresses, his wife's name comes up and he states without hesitation that “she is the most important person in my life.”
A personal decision that would change your career
They have been married since 2002, when elBulli was at its peak. “We thought about having children, but we had to decide. My career was very demanding and we couldn't have everything,” she says. The career and the restaurant, as the chef explained, required time that was not compatible at that time with the dedication they considered necessary to be parents.
The chef worked 18 hours a day all year round. “Before, I was in deep water,” he acknowledged, and growing up in those circumstances was unthinkable, but he affirms that “Isabel has accepted everything I do, the life we lead. Without her I would not be who I am, Ferran Adrià would not exist.” She is a member of elBullifoundation, a private foundation with the aim of promoting innovation and creativity through the language of cooking, and has always accompanied him on his work trips as an interpreter, since he only speaks Spanish and Catalan.
In exchange for the decision he made with Isabel, he became the best chef in the world and a gastronomic reference. On July 30, 2011, elBulli closed its doors and 12 years later, in 2023, it reopened as a museum. Now Adrià affirms that he has free weekends and dedicates more time to taking care of himself.
The decision not to have children marked her career but her family remains intact. The couple remains in love and the legacy they leave the world is such that it will always be remembered.
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