Chef Sergi Arola – A True Disciple of Chef Ferran Adria
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Chef Sergi Arola is the head chef as well as the owner of the world famous restaurant, La Broche, in Madrid, Spain. This tattooed chef with matching earrings and a deep love for leather jackets and rock music to boot is a true Ferran Adria as well as Pierre Gagnaire disciple. The culinary principles and techniques that he learned from these great master chefs truly show in his cuisine, thus, the two Michelin stars that he currently has under his belt.
Born in Roses on May 1968, he acknowledges that his childhood has had a lot to do with his interest in cooking. In fact, he credits his passion for food and cooking to his grandfather who also had a passion for food. At the tender age of 12 years old, he began experimenting with local ingredients as well as seasonal food products, whipping up dishes for his grandfather.
Another passion of Chef Arola’s is music. In fact, he was on his way to starting his music career and stardom when he got together with the other band members of the Los Canguro. However, he knew that a rock musician career was a difficult one, so in 1988, he decided to enroll at one of the culinary institutes in Barcelona.
After he graduated at the culinary school, he then stayed in the city to look for a job, and he found work in the kitchens of La Jijoneca. It was also during the early 1990s that he met the world-famous Chef Pierre Gagnaire in Paris who taught him some of his own culinary techniques and principles.
It was pure luck that a friend of Chef Ferran Adria, Carles Abellan, got in touch with him to offer him an opportunity of a lifetime – to work with one of the best chefs not only in Spain but in the whole world as well, Chef Adria. Of course, it was an opportunity that should not be missed, so with excitement and anticipation, he entered El Taller, a culinary research center that the great Chef Adria runs. There, Chef Arola got to learn about the techniques and principles of the master chef.
Two years after, he left Barcelona to move to Madrid and hone his culinary skills there. This was in 1997. In 2000, he finally decided to launch his own restaurant and call it La Broche. His minimalist restaurant can be found in the Hotel Miguel Angel’s mezzanine level. With such a very good location at the heart of Madrid, Spain’s capital city, his restaurant soon began earning worldwide attention. His post-modern cuisine that showcase a perfect blending of contrasting flavors as well as textures, not to mention temperatures, have captivated the gourmet culinary world that, pretty soon, it became a must-go-to restaurant whenever one visits the country. In no time at all, Chef Arola received two stars from the Michelin Guide.
Aside from La Broche, Chef Arola also launched Arola, his eponymous restaurant that can be found in Barcelona’s trendy and chic Hotel Arts. In contrast with La Broche though that offers high-concept and very sophisticated cuisine, the cuisine served in his second venture are more “down to earth.” He serves traditional tapas here as well as classic Mediterranean cuisine.
These are not the only things though that keep him busy as he has already published his own cookbook titled Cooking is Fun in 2004. The cookbook showcases some of his famous signature recipes served at La Broche. It also features detailed instructions of his culinary techniques.
Chef Arola’s cuisine stays true to the principles of both of his greatest mentors, Chefs Adria and Gagnaire, and all his efforts are paying off as he is enjoying an excellent reputation right now as one of the top chefs in the world.
Chef Sergi Arola’s Warm Lobster Soup with Coastal Fish and Mollusks
Ingredients:
Seafood Platter:
- 60 grams lobster meat
- 20 grams clams
- 10 grams cockles
- 50 grams fresh king prawns
- 10 grams goose barnacles
- 25 grams mussels
- 30 grams sea bass
- 50 grams scorpion fish
Soup:
- 1 lobster head
- 100 grams frozen king prawns
- 1 red onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 200 milliliters Pernod
Saffron Agar:
- 50 milliliters water
- 1 thin slice of garlic
- 3 saffron threads
- 0.3 agar-agar per litre
King Prawn Agar:
- 1 king prawn head
- 50 milliliters water
- 0.3 agar-agar per litre
Picada:
- 10 grams hazelnuts, fried
- 10 grams almonds, fried
- 10 pieces bread, fried
- 20 parsley leaves, fried
- 100 milliliters olive oil
Crisps:
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 piece sliced white bread
- 1 ripe tomato
- 8 parsley leaves
Procedure:
For Seafood Platter: Blanch the mollusks, rinse and reserve in a cool place. Clean the fish and cut into portions. Cut the lobster into medallions. Just before serving, sear them on the griddle and finish off in the oven or in a salamander.
For Soup: Chop the onions and soften them slowly. Add the paprika and Pernod and reduce. Add the lobster head and reduce to half the volume, and then strain.
For Saffron Agar: Sauté the garlic and place it with the lightly toasted saffron in the water, bring to a boil and crush. Allow to cool and strain. Pour into a sauce bottle and keep cool. Add the agar-agar, bring to a boil and allow to set. Mash in a Thermomix and strain.
For King Prawn Agar: Sauté the prawn heads, add the water and cook for 20 minutes. Crush and strain. Add the agar-agar, bring to a boil and allow to set. Mash in the Thermomix, strain and transfer to a sauce bottle.
For Picada: Mash all the ingredients in a Thermomix along with the olive oil.
For Crisps: Fry the sliced garlic in a little olive oil, adding it while the oil is still cold. Fry the parsley leaves. Cut the bread into small squares and fry. Slice the tomato finely, taking care to keep whole pieces and dry in a food dehydrator.
To Assemble and Serve: Sear all the mollusks on one side of the griddle and seal the skin of the pieces of fish. Place them around the plate, and alternate drops of the saffron emulsion and the king prawn emulsion. Finish off by adding the picada and parsley crisps, garlic crisps, and mini pieces of toast.
Image Credit: tortilladespana.blogspot.com
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Australian Chef- Matthew J. Goudge is the mastermind behind the formation of the ProChef360 platform.
Chef Sergi Arola – A True Disciple of Chef Ferran Adria…
Here at World Spinner we are debating the same thing……