Restaurants of the Future Combine Food, Opera, and Art
0 
Great news for foodies: in 2012, eating may become a bonafide art. Two of Spain’s renowned chef-and-brother pairings have announced ideas for revolutionizing the typical dinner on the town.
First, the brothers 
of El Celler de Can Roca, which ranks #2 on San Pellegrino’s 50 Best Restaurants in the World list, are looking to transform dining into an immersive cultural experience that invokes all of the senses (because sight, smell, and hearing were feeling shunned from the table). The name for this experience? “A culinary opera,” according to Eater.
The chefs plan to pair with artist Fran Aleu to create a round-table dining experience in which twelve diners will share a meal in an “igloo-like space” while feasting their eyes on artistic videos and imagery. Colors, scents, and sounds will accompany the visual art, and food will be served in twelve “acts.”
“The more that cooking connects with other disciplines, the better it becomes,” Joan Roca said.
A successful test run of the culinary opera was comprised of a single diner, musician and poet Pau Riba. Riba added to the art of the meal by bringing in one of his poems. The Roca brothers hope to open the restaurant concept, which will be located in Girona, Spain, on 12/12/2012, though no singing will be required from the general audience.
Chef Albert Adrià of 41 Degrees also plans to cool things down with his proposed new dining concept, “Frosted Rain.” Rather than opera, Adrià focused on physical art. He paired up with audiovisual sculpture artist Javier Milara who will create a 20,000 piece crystal sculpture of the same name. Adrià plans to project images onto the sculpture which will surround the space, while diners choose from 50 menu items which will be paired with wine and cocktails and can be eaten by hand. Interested parties will have to book tickets in advance for the dining project which will take place April 20.
Adrià stated he wanted to attempt something that “didn’t fit into the category of restaurant,” which certainly fits “Frosted Rain”‘s description.
Table for two, please.
Photo from Canibales
