Molecular foods are a culinary movement that combines science and cooking to create unique textures, flavors, and presentations. Think of foams, spheres, edible air, and liquid nitrogen clouds! I played with it for a while just because it became a trend, however, I do like my food with more substance to it, instead of foams and jellies, so I gave it up after a while.

Signature Techniques in Molecular Gastronomy Restaurants

1. Spherification – Turning liquids into caviar-like spheres (e.g., olive oil pearls or melon “caviar”).
   
2. Foams & Airs – Creating light, flavorful foams using emulsifiers (e.g., Parmesan air or espresso foam).
   
3. Liquid Nitrogen – Instantly freeze ingredients for dramatic effects (e.g., frozen popcorn that makes you exhale smoke).
   
4. Sous Vide Cooking – Precision-cooking food in vacuum-sealed bags for perfect textures.
   
5. Gelification – Turning liquids into gels or sheets (e.g., balsamic vinegar gel strips).
   
6. Deconstruction: Classic dishes are broken into separate elements (e.g., a deconstructed cheesecake served as foam, crumble, and frozen cream)
   

Famous Molecular Gastronomy Restaurants

• ElBulli (Spain)—The pioneer (it closed in 2011, but Ferran Adrià’s legacy lives on).
  
• Alinea (Chicago, USA) – Grant Achatz’s temple of avant-garde dining.
  
• The Fat Duck (UK) – Heston Blumenthal’s mind-bending culinary experiments.
  
• Tickets (Spain) – Playful, tapas-style molecular gastronomy.
  

Have you tried any molecular gastronomy dishes? Or are you thinking of visiting a restaurant that specializes in it?

Leave me a comment

Your Blogging Friend, Ulrich Koepf

This the locationwere many Western movies used to be filmed, such as “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” with Clint Eastwood. many other movies where shot there with stars such as Claudîa Cardinale, Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer. These are real buildings, constructed for those movies, and are still standing, and used as set for movies today, after 60 years!

The Village of Tabernas is taken full advantage of this location, there are daily shows just as it used to be back then, there are over 30 horses on the property, cowboys and horse and buggy rides for the public.

From Alicante it’s a two-hour drive south. There are dozens of clubs, beach resorts ,and restaurants, a fun place for a vacation with the whole family.

Spain, 1496

The Spanish court is buzzing with excitement at their first taste of a succulent new fruit brought back to Europe by Christopher Columbus after his second voyage to the New World.

This exotic fruit

has become known as a “pineapple” because it looks just like a large pinecone. It is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where it was spread by the Indians northward through South and Central America to the West Indies. Columbus discovered the fruit when he lowered anchor in a cove off the lush volcanic island of Guadeloupe in 1493 and rowed ashore to inspect a deserted Carib village, where he found cultivated plants bearing fruit.

The pineapple has become a “Regal” fruit, an item of celebrity and curiosity for royal gourmets and horticulturalists alike.

and so it happened! they say!

During a visit to Valencia, I was amazed at the variety of restaurants and cafes presenting a wide choice of tapas on display. I enjoy nothing better than eating that way, going from one place to another enjoying a bite here and a bite there!

Baby Artichokes

The chefs behind these counters are constantly refilling the platters with fresh selections, from stuffed eggs, salmon roulades, stuffed olives, cold cuts such as Chorizo, steamed quail eggs on toast, salmon mousse on flatbread, fried sardines, etc,  etc The Spaniards understand it like no other people to make out of appetizers. In the summer, the kitchen stays cold on the Iberian peninsula, and people go from bar to bar happily with friends and family.
Nowhere do you eat more than a maximum of two bites of tapas: a few olives, a little ham or cheese, and a cube of potato tortilla. Claro, every time a sip of wine goes with it! The perfect choice: Rioja Crianza or Marques de Riscal. These reds had two years of maturity, at least one year in oak barrels. Long enough to make it supple, yet so short that it keeps its berry fruit taste and fresh acidity.
Just like the Azabache from the top year of 2015: it goes well with everything, and it also tastes great for your tapas evening.

The Tapas selection of the day in Valencia

Incredible Tapas bar in La Palma, Mallorca

Tapas in Lloret de Mar

The post Grand Hotel Monterey, Lloret de Mar, Spain first appeared on Food, Travel, and Stories from a Swiss Chef Who Cooked Around the World .]]> https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/grand-hotel-monterey-lloret-de-mar-spain/feed/ 0 https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/lloret-de-mar-costa-brava-spain/ https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/lloret-de-mar-costa-brava-spain/#respond Thu, 15 Aug 2019 11:33:44 +0000 https://ulrichkoepf.website/?p=3520 Lloret de Mar, Spain Trip