What's new with the world's busiest shuttered restaurant? ElBulli is selling off all kinds of memorabilia. Sotheby's has added a number of lots to their elBulli wine auction, to take place in Hong Kong and New York in April. This includes custom plates and utensils from the restaurant, chef jackets (starting bid $1,000), and siphons signed by chef Ferran Adrià (starting bid $50), and the opportunity to dine with the world famous chef at Albert Adrià's Tickets in Barcelona (starting at $5,000). Other items for sale include a set of elBulli steak knives ($1,000), elBulli chocolate boxes (also $1,000), and the "crockery" for the famous spherical olives dishes (a bargain starting at $150). Proceeds go to the elBulli Foundation. Below, the press release.
Bid For Dinner With The World's Greatest Chef At Sotheby's
New Lots Added To elBulli Auction Including Dinner With Ferran Adriá and Exclusive elBulli Memorabilia Sotheby's is pleased to announce that additional lots have been added to the auctions of the elBulli Wine Cellar. In addition to the range of superb wines, all of which will feature a specially designed elBulli sticker with many bottles signed by Ferran Adrià and Juli Soler, the sale will now include dinner with the famed elBulli chef and a range of memorabilia and equipment that was used in the elBulli kitchen. The auctions, which take place on 3
April 2013 in Hong Kong and in New York on 26 April 2013, will benefit the elBulli Foundation - an experimental centre looking at the process of culinary innovation and creativity.Jamie Ritchie, President Sotheby's Wine, Americas and Asia said: "We are excited to offer food and wine lovers a chance to enjoy a part of the elBulli experience. In addition to wines from the cellar, the elBulli sales will include equipment, memorabilia and experiences all sold to benefit the charitable foundation founded by Chef Ferran Adrià. You might not have been able to go to the restaurant but a small part of elBulli is now available to enjoy in your home kitchen!"
The highlight of these new lots is the chance to enjoy dinner with Ferran Adrià who is widely recognized as the world's most famous and greatest chef (opening bid: $5,000). Four elBulli chefs jackets signed by Adrià are also available (opening bid: $1,000 per jacket) as well as a set of elBulli knives (opening bid: $1,000), and a large number of menus, wine lists and other pieces of elBulli stationary (opening bid: $250 each).
The food at elBulli has been widely recognized as revolutionary, introducing the world to the concept of technoemotional gastronomy and setting new standards for restaurants around the world. Much of this unique food could only be served using equipment especially designed for the restaurant, several examples of which will be offered in the auctions including Mesh Trays (opening bid: $250 per set) and Crockery for Spherical
Olives (opening bid: $150 per item). Many of the pieces of kitchen hardware were designed specifically for use at the restaurant after the elBulli team realised that the equipment available to them was not of the level of the food that would be served on it. Examples of these unique pieces which were created by designers in both Barcelona and Switzerland include Baroque Metal Trays (opening bid: $150 per tray) and Corrugated Trays (opening bid: $150 per tray). The structure of meals at elBulli was always important and this meant Petit Fours at the end of lunch or dinner. As they were essential to any elBulli meal, crockery was designed on which to serve them, several examples of which are available, each with an opening bid of $50.Highlights
Dinner with Ferran Adrià at Tickets restaurant in Barcelona, opening bid: $5,000/HK$40,000
A set of elBulli knives, opening bid: $1,000/HK$8,000
Chefs jackets signed by Ferran Adrià, opening bid: $1,000/HK$8,000
elBulli Chocolate Boxes, opening bid: US$1,000/HK$8,000 each
elBulli Mesh trays, opening bid: US$150/HK$1,000 per set
A selection of Petit Fours Crockery especially designed for elBulli, opening bid: US$50/HK$500 each
A selection of elBulli Baroque metal trays, opening bid: US$150/HK$1,000 each
elBulli cutlery, opening bid: S$2,000/HK$16,000
A selection of elBulli glass serving dishes, opening bid: US$1,000/HK$8,000
An elBulli Dish and cover, opening bid: US$150/HK$1,000
A selection of signed elBulli menus and wine lists, opening bid: US$250/HK$2,000 each
A signed elBulli siphon and box, opening bid: US$50/HK$500
A range of 5 elBulli books in both English and Spanish that contain photographs of cocktails, snacks, tapas, dishes, pre-desserts, and desserts to chart the evolution of elBulli, opening bid: US$500/HK$4,000.
elBulli Corrugated Trays, opening bid: US$250/HK$2,000 per item
elBulli Crockery for Spherical Olives, opening bid: US $150/HK$1,000 per item
· Bid For Dinner With The World's Greatest Chef At Sotheby's [Press Release via @ElizabethOnFood]
· All elBulli Coverage on Eater [-E-]