Chef Ferran Adrià to speak at Chicago Public Library

By Roger Kamholz in Food on Aug 31, 2011 2:00PM

Celebrated Chef Ferran Adrià will visit the Harold Washington Library Center on Wednesday, September 28, the library announced in an email newsletter sent yesterday. He'll be in town to discuss and sign copies of his forthcoming cookbook, The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adrià. The event begins at 6 p.m., with general seating beginning at 5. One month and one day ago, Adrià's world-famous, three-Michelin-star-rated restaurant in rural Catalonia, elBulli, closed its doors forever to make way for the chef's next endeavor, a nonprofit culinary think tank and foundation slated to open in 2014.

The Family Meal collects recipes inspired by elBulli's three-course meals prepared and consumed by the restaurant's staff before dinner service. ("In Spain, the staff is the family," Adrià told the New York Times' Mark Bittman.) Unlike the cutting-edge cuisine elBulli crafted for patrons that brought it number-one-restaurant-in-the-world status, this cookbook's recipes are far more approachable for the home cook.

Does Adrià's visit to Chicago coincide with, say, some reservations at Alinea or Next? We can only wonder. Grant Achatz has floated the idea of creating a Next menu based on dishes served at elBulli from 1983 to 2003. And Achatz was also one of the lucky diners to attend elBulli's final dinner service, a 50-course extravaganza that looked back on the restaurant's colorful and delicious history. On behalf of Chicago food lovers, we'd welcome a collaboration.

Be warned, this event - while free - has limited seating and is bound to fill up fast. Advanced registration is required. Go here to register and for more details. If you do not have access to a computer, call (312) 747-8184 to register.

The Harold Washington Library Center is located at 400 South State Street.