A Day at elBulli

In brief - This is a a near perfect coffee table book for foodies. The exhaustive detail of every nook and cranny of the restaurant and how it runs is beautifully presented. If you are really into food, or want to know how a world renowned chef operates his establishment in incredibly visual detail, then this book is a great investment.
I've already given away a copy as a gift, and the cost is not that significant for such a large volume.
Cons - No this is not a really useful cookbook. If that's what you're expecting I would look elsewhere.
The quality of the pages themselves could be better, but I'm figuring this is why they're able to sell it so cheaply considering it's size.

This book caught my eye in my local bookstore last weekend. It is arguably at the top of the heap of a bunch of new fascinating molecular gastronomy "cookbooks" which also includes Heston Blumenthal's The Big Fat Duck Cookbook and Grant Achatz's Alinea. Looking into the pages of these three "cookbooks" is like looking into the future of future of food. I first discovered elBulli on Anthony Bourdain's show, No Reservations, on the Travel Channel. Millions of food enthusiasts can't get a reservation at Ferran Adrià's Spainish reservation every year. elBulli (http://www.elbulli.com) is not only considered to be The Best Restaurant in the World, it is also considered to be The Vatican for foodies seeking something of a religious experience through Ferran Adrià's haute cuisine. As he likes to say, "the ideal customer doesn't come to El Bulli to eat, but to have an experience." While this this book may have little to offer the amateur home cook looking for the perfect green bean casserole recipe, it features culinary adventures in things like preserved tuna oil air, melon with ham, pine nut marshmallows, rose-scented mozzarella, rock mussels with seaweed and fresh herbs, and passion fruit trees.

G. Merritt

"A Day At elBulli" is a spectacular book documenting a typical day at Ferran Adria's equally spectacular restaurant. It's sensually beautiful,a coffee table book that manages to blend science with cuisine, with colorful pictures of Adria's spare,Zen-like meals.

Ferran Adria takes food to its basic elements, be it pine nut marshmallows,or "ice cream" made from savory ingredients. Each meal is pared down. But it's certainly not spartan-if you consider the cooking equipment,ingredients,time and preparation. This is NOT a cookbook for anyone on a budget or without the fancy tools. How many people have dry ice on hand for cooking? It is,however,a delight for the eyes and one can learn some food science.

"Day at elBulli" begins with the early morning preparations, gathering the ingredients (there are sumptuous pictures of Adria on the beach getting seaweed),and finishes with turning out the lights at 2 in the morning. There's the history of the restaurant, Adria's complex recipes,people enjoying the food. It's a book worth feasting on!

purchased the book as a gift for my son who is a chef he was very excited when he unwrapped the gift he tells me the book is excellent

This is a must have if you are fan of a chef who many consider to be one of the greatest if not the greatest chef in the world. While it is virtually impossible to get a table at Ferran's restaurant, El Bulli, in Spain, I was fortunate enough through pure luck to score a seat. It exceeded my wildest expectations. But the thing about great food is that it difficult to capture the tastes, flavors and smells so that you can re-live the magic. "A Day at El Bulli" is the closest thing I have found to allowing me to re-live the world class dining experience and the wondrous food that Ferran creates in his laboratory / kitchen. Simply the best and should be top of the reading list for the truly passionate foodie.