Distilled Spiny Lobster

Pedro Subijana finds himself at a splendid point in his career, combining academism with non-conformity, scholarship with renewed spirit, synthesizing these qualities and many more that have come to be synonymous with his work in this masterful, technological recipe. The dish is born of a traditional shellfish consommé, of which there are countless of examples. In this interpretation, he has chosen a highly prestigious, wild crustacean: the spiny lobster. The dish and the lobster are prepared just before serving, with the added merit of being designed with a heavy dose of avant-garde concepts: the raw shellfish is heated by the consommé, which is prepared beforehand, without ever subjecting either element to boiling temperature, preserving the immaculate flavor and consistency of the mollusk meat. The identities of the accompaniments (green asparagus or seasonal vegetables, as well as herbs, micro-vegetables, flowers, etc.) are also wonderfully preserved through this process. It is nothing short of an entirely new way of presenting cuisine at the table, an unprecedented spectacle, with the main role being played by a “Cona” coffee maker, setting the stage for the show. It is presented with a Japanese motif, with chopsticks. But spectacle aside, the dish embodies sapid perfection. Spiny lobster soup in another place, another time… and told in a first person narrative by Pedro Subijana.