October 20, 1969

Albert Adrià was born in the Santa Eulalia district of L’Hospitalet, the son of Ginés and Josefa. His parents instilled in him an interest in everything to do with cooking, but it was his brother Ferran who passed on his passion for the trade.

1985-1997

In 1985 Albert abandoned his studies and joined the elBulli team. After two years of training in the various sections of the kitchen, his interest began to focus more and more on pastry. The illusion of learning more every day and the opportunity to work in a unique place like elBulli made Albert more and more interested in the trade, an interest that was confirmed year after year.

During the winters, when the restaurant was closed, he dedicated himself to completing his training in prestigious pastry shops such as Turull in Terrassa, Escribà in Barcelona or Totel in Elda, together with Maestro Francisco Torreblanca. He also completed a stage in Paris, at the Guy Savoy restaurant.

1997-1998

In 1997, after ten years, Albert left elBulli for half a season to write his first book: Los postres de elBulli, which was published in October 1998 after a year and a half of work and won the prize for the best pastry book at the Perigueux gastronomy fair. At the end of the year, to coincide with the publication of the book, he rejoined the team in the R&D department, which was then the headquarters of elBullicatering.

1998 -2008

Once the importance of the R&D workshop had been demonstrated, a new location was sought in 2000 in the heart of Barcelona, next to the popular La Boquería market. Together with Oriol Castro and Ferran, Albert was in charge of creating the menu for the following season, turning elBulli into a restaurant whose offer changes every year, just as it does in the world of fashion. Albert then became the director of elBullitaller, and his professional life was linked to that of Oriol and Ferran as if it were a single person.

During this time he has worked with Michel Bras, Heston Blumenthal, Andoni Aduriz, Martín Berasategui and Charlie Trotter, among others.

In 2006, together with his childhood friend Juan Martínez, he opened Inopia Classic Bar in Barcelona, an unpretentious establishment specialising in traditional tapas, which soon became one of the most innovative concepts for promoting haute cuisine. -He was a pioneer of the gastrobar concept.

In 2008 he decided to leave the elBulli restaurant, although their relationship remained very close through the elBulli Galaxy.

2009-2010

In 2009 he published his second solo book, Natura, and directed the documentary Un día en elBulli, which won awards at several festivals.

2010 – Present

In July 2010, Albert put an end to the Inopia project in order to create, together with the Iglesias brothers, a global project that would bring together different restaurants and gastronomic concepts under the name elBarri. Tickets, Pakta, Bodega 1900, 41º, Niño Viejo, Hoja Santa and, finally, Enigma were born.

In 2013 the elBullifoundation was created, with Albert Adrià as a member of the board of trustees.
The same year saw the publication of Las tapas de Tickets, a book of emblematic recipes from the restaurant’s early years.

Albert Adrià’s creative capacity has allowed him to go further, carrying out consultancy projects and collaborations at the highest level. In 2015, Heart Ibiza was born, with the aim of exploring the results of the fusion of music, art and gastronomy. In 2016 he made his first professional project outside Spain with 50 Days by Albert Adrià in London, a pop-up restaurant in the five-star Café Royal hotel, which continued in 2018 with the opening of Cakes & Bubbles, a new patisserie and sparkling wine space in the same hotel.
2018 also saw the publication of Tickets Evolution, the second and final recipe book from the Tickets restaurant.

In 2019, Albert and Ferran Adrià became creative collaborators with José Andrés to create Mercado Little Spain, a true tribute to Spanish gastronomy in the heart of Manhattan.

Between 2020 and 2021, the swine flu pandemic forced the end of the alliance with the Iglesias brothers, and Albert resumed his professional career with a vengeance. This is evidenced by the publication of two new books, Vegetales a todo Color and Candy. In addition to the various projects he has carried out with companies in the food industry and the new and exceptional collaborations in which he has played a fundamental role, such as the one with Alain Ducasse in the ADMO project in front of the Eiffel Tower, which opened its doors in November 2021 as a temporary restaurant for one hundred days, representing a productive creative alliance between these two great references in French and Spanish gastronomy.

In 2022, he reopened Enigma, where all the knowledge, technical background and experience acquired throughout his professional career are reflected. Albert currently devotes himself full-time to the Enigma restaurant and to various R&D projects with food companies.