“The hospitality industry must share its knowledge so it can grow”

Anyone who wants to understand why Eduard Xatruch’s cuisine is considered brilliant simply has to see it. Either in Barcelona – or at a trade fair like the Rolling Pin Convention, where the top Spanish chef prepares culinary masterpieces to wow audiences. The things he makes are so much more than just creative new flavour sensations. They are concoctions of unfamiliar textures, cooked up using chemical wizardry. Five employees in his 3-star restaurant Disfrutar devote themselves solely to the search for new gastronomic creations. Is that even possible? Hasn’t everything already been discovered? MPULSE asked the top Spanish chef.

Eduard, what does creativity mean to you?

Eduard Xatruch: Creativity means making something new. And making something truly new is no easy task. You need the right team, the right place and open-minded guests who have faith in you.

Is it even possible to create new things in the kitchen? Hasn’t everything already been discovered?

It’s definitely becoming more difficult, especially with the developments of the last 20 years. New technologies have given us a wealth of information – which is both a blessing and a curse. For example, Instagram didn’t exist until 2010. Yes, there was the mobile phone, there was WhatsApp. But if you wanted to know what there was in a restaurant, you had to go there. Or to see what was new, to a trade fair. These days, you can be in Barcelona and find out what’s cooking in a restaurant in Tokyo. The information is available very, very quickly, and we share everything. This applies to all types of cuisine – traditional, modern or creative. The good thing I’ve noticed is that you can get excellent traditional dishes in so many places now, much better than in the past. On the other hand, there is a lot of fine dining with a unique style.

You mean that the variety of information spreads creativity, but at the same time makes new discoveries more difficult?

Yes. True innovation requires new products or techniques. For example, 25 years ago, gelatine wasn’t very well known or explored. This discovery opened up a whole new world of textures. Another example is liquid nitrogen. Heston Blumenthal opened up a whole new world with it in the early 2000s.

So what’s all this about ‘molecular gastronomy’?

I don’t like the term; it’s meaningless to me. All cooking is molecular. It doesn’t express what we do. We make creative cuisine that awakens new sensations and emotions, and moves our guests to get involved and feel something.

How do you do that?

With new textures in simple dishes. Or familiar sensations that remind our guests of something.

What does that mean exactly?

We shape our guests’ restaurant visit like a trip to the theatre. It’s an artistic act. Before we start the meal, we give our guests a paper list of different terms. These are not our words – we ask our team beforehand what it means for them to work on this food with us. They give us ten words. And we ask twenty guests who are regulars at the restaurant what the food means to them. How do they feel when they come to us? The words mentioned most frequently go onto the list. It might be creativity, but also kindness, respect, family. When people read the words, they notice that it’s not just about the food. A tasting menu is like a song that awakens various emotions.

Like a song?

You said at the start, ‘we share everything’. Your techniques and strategies too?

Does that bother you?

Why don’t you keep your ideas to yourselves?

In gastronomy, if we don't share, we don't grow. It’s the only way for innovation to cut through to all areas, from fine dining to fast food. We depend on many things in our industry. Climate change, technology – they impact everyone.

Not just haute cuisine.

All the same, your kitchen at Disfrutar is a very special place – with 60 employees for a 40-seat restaurant.

And does a good chef need more creativity or a good head for figures?

That depends. You don’t necessarily have to be creative to be a good chef and run a good restaurant. Guests can have a great experience in a Japanese restaurant or a pizzeria, even without creativity. In my opinion, the most important thing is for a chef to make what he feels. Perhaps one loves croquettes while another loves traditional cooking. And that can stimulate guests’ emotions too.

In short, how do you create unforgettable moment for your guests?