Vendome Pictures will produce and finance “El Bulli,” a new film about one the most famous and influential chefs of the past 25 years, Ferran Adria.
Adria took over as the lead chef at Spanish restaurant El Bulli in 1984 and over time turned it into one of the most renowned and respected dining establishments in the world.
Adria, a huge influence on the molecular gastronomy movement, closed the restaurant in July 2011 at a time it was fielding 2 million reservations requests a year but could only serve a few thousand guests.
The chef has already been the subject of one movie, the 2011 documentary “El Bulli: Cooking in Progress.”
David Wilson has penned a script about the restaurant and chef based on Lisa Abend’s book “The Sorcerer’s Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adria’s elBulli.” The film will be set in the restaurant’s final year, mixing a factual look inside the kitchen with fictional flourishes.
Abend spent six months in elBulli in 2009 reporting on the restaurant’s rigorous training program that hosted 32 gifted young chefs who paid their way to train with one of the world’s most demanding chefs.
Vendome Pictures’ CEO Philippe Rousselet will produce this fictionalized account with Jeff Kleeman and John Lesher. They are currently looking for a director, with plans to commence shooting this year.
“We are excited to be a part of this film and to work with an innovator like Ferran who has revolutionized cuisine by creating his own genre of food,” Rousselet said in a statement. “We look forward to attaching a director to this film that will be able to capture the adventure of training in this iconic restaurant.”
