Throughout its history, Eina has taken an interest in gastronomy in the sense of its creation, rites, sensitivity, imagination and value as a social and cultural act. The following events and activities are just a few examples of this:
El Gust a la cuina (Taste in the Kitchen) (1978)
The El Gust a la cuina seminar is part of Eina’s educational offer and consists of two practical sessions held in one of the classrooms in the Casa Manuel Dolcet, adapted as a kitchen for the occasion. In these sessions, teachers Miquel Espinet, Xavier Olivé, Joan Enric Lahosa and Llorenç Torrado cook in front of the participants while discussing gastronomy and the universe around the culinary event: restaurants and staging, the performance part of the ritual of eating, the leisure component, the literary references, cooking as art, oenology, etc. They are on the front cover of the Tele/expres newspaper under the heading "They’re not teaching how to cook but focusing on gastronomy as an exercise in culture".
Cover and inside page of Tele/exprés.
Gust i estil: intercanvi de sensacions (Taste and Style: exchange of sensations) (1981)
Miquel Espinet, Joan Enric Lahosa, Xavier Olivé and Llorenç Torrado coordinate a new activity linked to the world of gastronomy. The seminar consists of six themed dinners at various restaurants and venues in Barcelona, where the aim is to relate an artist’s aesthetic with a chef and their restaurant. Rafòls Casamada with the Jean Louis Neichel restaurant, Sergi Aguilar with Racó d'en Binu, Frances Artigau cooking in his own studio, Francesc Todó with l’Agut d'Avignon, Maria Girona with the Suntory Japanese restaurant, and Xavier Olivé with Montse Guillén’s M.G. As well as dinner, each session features talks, discussions or workshops with professionals from the sector, such as Montse Guillén, Ramon Cabau, Miquel Espinet and Antoni Escribà. Each dinner also has a menu illustrated by artists with a link to Eina: Maria Girona, Xavier Olivé, Francesc Todó, Sergi Aguilar, Albert Ràfols and Francesc Artigau.
‘The Colour of Perfumes'. Dinner at Suntory Restaurant. Menu designed by Maria Girona.
‘A rather abstract figuration'. Dinner at Montse Guillén restaurant. Menu illustrated by Xavier Olivé.
‘A gentleman from Barcelona'. Visit to the Boqueria Market accompanied by Ramon Cabau. Aperitif at Boadas Cocktail Bar. Lunch at L'Agut d'Avignon. Menu drawn by Francesc Todó.
‘I'm Exalted by the New and Enamoured by the Old'. Dinner at Racó d'en Binu Argentona. Menu designed by Sergi Aguilar.
‘La Joie de Vi.Vre'. Talk by Miquel Espinet at the Club de Marchand de Vi. ‘Una Cuisine de Stilj’. Dinner at Jean Louis Neichel. Letter drawn by Albert Ràfols Casamada.
‘The Kitchen Fauvres'. Talk at Can Escribà. Dinner at Francesc Artigau's Atelier. Letter drawn by Francesc Artigau.
Gust i estil: la cuina dels artistes (Taste and Style: artists’ cuisine) (1995)
On the occasion of the closing of the Second Catalan Cuisine Congress, the seminar Taste and style: the cuisine of artists is held, where cuisine as a cultural fact is vindicated. For fifteen days, a unique menu specially cooked and served by the Escuela Restaurante Hofmann in Barcelona will be tasted.
Each artist illustrates one of the dishes on the tasting menu: Xavier Olivé for the aperitif and the assortment of breads; Josep Guinovart for the starter, consisting of cocas de recapte made according to his sketches; Albert Ràfols for the starter, sardines with chanfaina reduction; Francesc Artigua for the main course, a bunting with Catalan-style spinach; Maria Girona for dessert, a red fruit gypsy's arm with violets; and Francesc Todó for coffee, a glass and a cigar.
The menu, in the shape of an accordion, was designed by Josep Bagà and Xavier Olivé, and was given as a gift to each diner.
Sardines amb reducció de samfaina, Albert Ràfols Casamada.
Gratapallers amb espinacs a la catalana, Francesc Artigau.
Braç de gitano de fruitetes vermelles en violeta, Maria Girona i Benet.
Cafè copa i puro, Francesc Todó.
Document Taste and Style: the artists' kitchen
You are what you eat (2002)
Table-Runway, a long table set for a banquet serves as the walkway into the event.
Cycle of lectures and activities organised by the Eina alumni association with the aim of making a multidisciplinary approach to the fabric of art and gastronomy.
Barbara Flaquer is responsible for the conception and direction of the project, with script and structure by Jordi Casa, Isabel Causadias, Marta Coll, Javier Durán, Joanot Gabarró, Carme Rubio, Montse Vendrell and Helena Vergés.
The conference included lectures, artistic actions and a tasting at the end, with the participation of theoreticians, professional artists from the world of cuisine such as Joan Enric Lahosa, Antoni Miralda, Pep Palau, Ada Parellada, Josep Piera, Carmen Ruscalleda, Llorenç Torrado, Agustí Villalonga and David Ymbernón, among others.
The event closed with Sadahiro Otani on guitar and the premiere of Mateu Malondra's play Faisandage, followed by a lecture by Ferran Adrià and talks by Maria Soler, Rosa M. Esteva Grewe and Jaume Von Arend.
Dinner was served in the gardens of Eina by Toni Botella, Xavier Pellicer (Restaurant Àbac), Joan Portillo (Restaurant El Casal de Santa Eulalia), Rosa M. Esteva Grewe and Joan Ferré (Grupo Tragaluz), Xavier Canal (Pastelería Canal) and Cacao Samapaka. The service and infrastructure was provided by Paradís Grup directed by Juan Mediavilla with the collaboration of Ungrup.
Déjeuner sur l'herbe. Banquet served on a table covered with natural grass. Design by Xavier Olivé.
Guino de Guinovart (2018)
With staging by Xavier Olivé at the Barcelona Design Museum, Guino de Guinovart is a gastronomic montage with coques de recapte recreated by Salvador Sauleda following the sketches that Josep Guinovart made in 1995 for the special menu to mark the end of the 2nd Catalan Cuisine Congress.
Josep Guinovart making the coques.
Sketches by Guino.
Eina x Disfrutar (2022-2025)
Eina is collaborating with the Disfrutar restaurant from the 2022-2023 academic year within the framework of the Bachelor of Design studies. In the exhibition ‘A Taula’ the first prototypes were presented, three of which were selected to be incorporated into the restaurant's service.
'Ametlla, ametllat i ametlló' by Maria Serrallonga, 'Bombolles sòlides de mantega fumada amb caviar' by Eduard Martínez and 'Tempura sense oli de brot de pi' by Sergi Serrano (Photo: Eduard Sánchez). Teachers: Max Enrich, Fanny Basanta.
In 2024, the exhibition ‘Disfrutar and Eina: the gastronomic fact’ will be held, which will show the trajectory of the collaboration between the two institutions and the relevance of gastronomy at Eina since its beginnings. The exhibition, curated by Josep Aregall and Xavier Olivé, also includes the latest prototypes designed by students of the Bachelor of Design.
New Gastronomy and Taste section at Eina Library (2024)
Eina Library incorporates a new cooking section called Gastronomy and Taste with special editions, numbered in special printings, dedicated and signed by the chefs or authors themselves.
Most of these works have been donated by Xavier Olivé. And many of them are linked to the teaching staff and students, and the activities carried out at Eina (seminars, conferences, workshops and subjects within the design studies).
In Gastronomy and Taste you will find cookery manuals and recipe books from ancient times, from the Middle Ages such as the ‘Libro de Coch’ or the ‘Libro de Sent Soví’, the latest doctoral theses on gastronomy, cooking and food, and works by contemporary authors and chefs such as Carme Ruscalleda, Ferran Adrià and Nandu Juabany, among others.
The versatility of works covers cultures such as cocktails and mixology, where the book commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Boadas cocktail bar in Barcelona, which includes the recipe for the Eina cocktail, and the donation of several titles by Javier de las Muelas, a legend in the sector and owner of the Dry Martini temples with branches in Spain, China, Italy and Mexico, stand out.
Doctoral thesis and final projects of the Master's Degree in Research in Art and Design related to gastronomy
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García Cassinelli, V. L. (2014). “Ágape” Insípido, un aporte de conocimiento. Curs 2013-2014.
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Bocos Mirabella, Y. Á. (2016). El gesto de comer. Curs 2015-2016.
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Sarlak, N. (2019). El uso de las plantas medicinales en joyería contemporánea. Curs 2019-2020.
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Ventayol, A. (2023). El diseño de espacios en los restaurantes. Curs 2022-2023.
Works directed by Tània Costa, Jèssica Jaques, Raúl Oliva, Gerard Vilar.
Text: Rubén Alcaraz, Silvia Brenes, Gal·la Pérez, and Xavier Olivé
Cover image: Realist still life 1984, a performance by Xavier Olivé, Josep Bagà, Jordi Colomer and Agustí Jansana to celebrate the winter solstice at Eina. The natural products used are handled with pictorial techniques.