Lisa Abend

It is, arguably, the most famous restaurant in the world and perhaps one of the most significant and influential ever: the legendary 'el Bulli' in Catalonia has attained a near-mythic reputation for culinary wizardry. But what actually goes on behind the scenes? What is the daily reality of life in the world's greatest kitchen? The Sorcerer's Apprentices tells first-hand the story of a young chef enrolled in the restaurant's legendary training course. It shows her struggle to adapt to the culture shock of el Bulli, how she and the other apprentices learn to push themselves and the limits of their culinary abilities, how they adjust to a style of cooking that is creative in the extreme and how they deal with the pressures of performing at the highest level night after night. In past years stagiers have clashed with the rather severe demeanor of Oriol Castro, the restaurant's chef de cuisine; others have gone on to work permanently at the restaurant. One, inevitably, is sent home each year, unable to fit into the high-wire act that is the el Bulli kitchen. Complicating things even more, the stagiers live together in shared apartments, so the events and emotions of their personal lives bleed more than usually into the professional. The Sorcerer's Apprentices tells these smaller, more human stories as well. At its heart, The Sorcerer's Apprentices is a quest: it tells the tale of a handful of aspiring young men and women who submit themselves to a grueling challenge in order to be made better by it. It also offers an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at the most famous restaurant in the world through the lens of those who, ultimately, make it work.

¿Qué hay detrás de los platos y las recetas del Bulli? Elegido como el mejor restaurante del mundo por la revista Restaurant en cinco ocasiones consecutivas —un hecho sin precedentes—, el Bulli es el sitio donde la cocina creativa de Ferran Adrià es objeto de peregrinación gastronómica por parte de clientes de todo el mundo, tras meses y años de espera para conseguir una mesa. Pero es también el lugar donde cada año decenas de jóvenes cocineros, los más ambiciosos de todo el mundo, dirigen sus pasos para trabajar en él de forma gratuita.Los aprendices de brujo explora y se sumerge en los aprendices que Adrià contrata para la cocina y la sala de su restaurante y, en el proceso, formar a la próxima generación de estrellas culinarias de todo el mundo.