Juli Soler
Inspired by our enduring unwritten philosophy, we believed, and continue to believe, that the ambience of elBulli was unique.
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BIOGRAPHY
31st May 1949
Juli Soler was born in Terrassa, a province in Barcelona, Spain, and was the son of Paquita and Juli. His father, who was the maître d’hôtel of a restaurant in a small spa resort, instilled in him his passion for service, the attention given to guests, and the importance of the relationship with each person at the table and throughout their stay at the hotel. Juli shared this passion with his father and helped him at weekends as an apprentice. At the same time, he started studying at the Escola Pia, then eventually went on to take a business course at the Escola Cultura Pràctica college in Terrassa.
1962-1965
Juli entered the world of hospitality at a very young age, when Miquel Ristol took him on in 1962 as an assistant waiter at the Gran Casino de Terrassa. The following year, he spent his first season away from home, in Puigcerdà, where he worked as an assistant bartender at the prestigious Xalet del Golf hotel. At the urging and recommendation of Ferrer (head chef at the time), Josep Julià employed Juli at the age of 14 at Reno, a renowned Barcelona restaurant. A year later, having turned down employment on a luxury cruise liner, he joined his parents on a new business venture: managing the catering department at Josa, an electrical equipment manufacturer in Rubí.
1966-1980
Juli abandoned his studies during this period. Having a love of British and American music, and travelling, he turned his hand to that and became an important figure in the club scene. Aside from running two of these venues, he lived with a sole passion: the music (R&B, soul, rock) he would import and which was danced to by an entire generation for more than a decade. In 1980, he closed the Transformer record shop that he had opened and decided to change his life.
1981-2011
In 1981, the owners of Hacienda elBulli, Marketta and Hans Schilling, offered Juli the job of running their establishment at Cala Montjoi, which he accepted. For a while, he devoted himself to visiting all the leading European restaurants to study the market and learn the ropes. He also did an internship at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Germany to familiarise himself with the internal operations of a type of restaurant that was uncommon in Spain at the time.
As Juli would recall:
‘At the time, a table at elBulli was already different from the tables at other restaurants in Spain. Even the cutlery, glassware and china were imported from Germany, and they were inspired by the grand restaurants of the day, which belonged to Alain Chapel, Jacques Pic and others. The table service, the consideration – in a word, the way the restaurant was run – was also based on those models. … Doctor Schilling suggested that I should travel intensely for two months, visiting the best restaurants in France, Belgium and Germany. When I returned, in mid-March 1981, I was ready to face my first season as a manager. … elBulli was a charming place, and getting there was quite an adventure, but thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations from our customers, Germans, French and many Catalans came to sample our cuisine, which, while very different from what it is today, was already at the forefront of the new European trends. The menu by Jean-Paul Vinay was very much in line with nouvelle cuisine, with subtle influences from his home town of Lyon, and from Michel Guérard, whose restaurant had been one of the last places he’d worked. And added to all that was the quality of the best produce from our region: the best locally grown vegetables, succulent fish and seafood, and so forth. And then, of course, there was our philosophy, our desire above all to provide diners with pleasure so that they would leave satisfied and happy. In fact, inspired by our omnipresent unwritten philosophy, we believed, and continue to do so, that the ambience of elBulli was unique.’
In 1984, his career would be linked with that of Ferran Adrià. Together they turned elBulli into one of the leading restaurants on the international haute cuisine scene.
30 July 2011
elBullirestaurante closed to become elBullifoundation.
2012
In October 2012, just as the elBulli transformation process was entering a delicate phase, the sad news came that Juli Soler was suffering from a degenerative nerve disease. The announcement was a severe blow to his entire family, as well as the entire elBulli team and the world of gastronomy in general, in which he was a leading figure.
7 February 2013
This date marks the birth of elBullifoundation, a private, family-based foundation led by Ferran Adrià and Juli Soler. Juli Soler was its honorary president until his death.
elBullifoundation was founded in 2010 as a result of the need to transform elBullirestaurante and give it prospects for the future. It was sustained by the will to continue to foster innovation and creativity through the culinary language and to leave a legacy to society.
Juli Soler was married to Marta Sala and they had three children, Panxo, Rita and Júlia.
He died on 6 July 2015 at his home, surrounded by his family.
The legacy left by Juli, whose spirit permeates all the action taken by elBullifoundation, was continued through the incorporation of his children Rita and Panxo as pillars of the foundation.
THE ADRIÀ-SOLER GALAXY
The Galaxy is the business model of Juli Soler, Ferran Adrià and Albert Adrià concerning elBullirestaurante. In 1998, a key decision was taken as to how the business model should be, making a conceptual change based on the following premise: keeping elBullirestaurante at the cutting-edge. To give us the necessary freedom to do this, a business model for elBullirestaurante was created, based on consultancy and image work, and the formation of our own business lines.
FOOD & BEVERAGE AND DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRIES
1997 – Collaboration with the creative team of Chocovic in ventures related to chocolate.
1999 – R & D, and creation of vinaigrettes, sauces and aromatic olive oils in partnership with Borges
2000 – Study and creation of soups and dairy products for Kaiku, together with Juan Mari Arzak, Karlos Arguiñano and Pedro Subijana.
2001 – Collaboration with Caprabo in several publishing and consultancy projects.
2002 – Collaboration with Lavazza, for the creation of products and concepts related to coffee.
2004 – Innovations in the world of cocktails, with Diageo
2005 – Texturas, a line of products selected by elBullitaller, to bring new elaborations to the kitchen.
2005 – Working on new creations in chocolate with the architect Jean Nouvel and the team of Cailler, a company in the Nestlé group.
2005 – A new range of potato crisps, and other ideas for aperitif concepts in collaboration with the R & D department of Frito Lays, of the Pepsico company.
2007 – R & D in fruit juices and cookies, with United Biscuits.
2008 – Creation of Inedit, in collaboration with the team of Damm master brewers. A ground-breaking new line of beer that, for its elegance and ability to accompany the great variety of flavours existing in modern gastronomy, offers an alternative to wine.
RESTAURANT BUSINESS
1986 – ElBulli Bistrot opens in the Pasarela nightclub in Empuriabrava (Roses).
1989 – Consultancy work for Bel-Air, Chévere, Network and Samoa restaurants (Barcelona), along with Can Bosch (Cambrils).
1990 – Consultancy work for Reina de España restaurant (Puerto Rico).
1992 – Consultancy work for the Bernat II Hotel (Calella).
1993 – The Ñam-Ñam self-service restaurant opens at the same time as Dim-Sum, a European dim-sum concept restaurant. Both at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona.
1993 – A collaboration with Semon begins, which lasts one year.
1994 – Mas Pau restaurant opens, in Avinyonet de Puigventós (Figueres), run by Xavier Sagristà and Toni Gerez.
1995 – ElBullicatering is born, in which the cuisine, philosophy and service of elBulli is transferred to the world of catering.
1999 – Creation of elBullihotel, whose first project is the Hacienda Benazuza hotel, where consultancy work is also undertaken for the gastronomic offer of the hotel.
2001 – Commencing a collaboration with NH Hoteles, which bears fruit with two projects: Nhube and Fast Good.
TABLEWARE & KITCHENWARE
1998 –With ICC company, state-of-the-art kitchen utensils and appliances, including the siphon, are manufactured and commercialised.
2001 – Creation of Ola dishware with designer Gemma Bernal, produced by CIM, which became a success in the restaurant business.
2004 – Agreement with Armand Basi to create tablecloths and textile tableware products related to the world of cooking.
2004 – Creation of Faces, producing cutlery, kitchenware and utensils for table service, in a joint collaboration with some great names in Spanish design.
PUBLISHING AND AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTIONS
Printed publications (including for elBulliBooks and material for other publishers)
35 books
More than 15,000 pages of content
More than 8,000 images
6 CDs with 1,846 recipes
Audio-visual publications
Self-published
2009 – General Audio-visual Catalogue in 9 episodes, in collaboration with Televisión Española
2009 – A Day at elBulli
2011 – Documenting Documenta
In close collaboration
2009 – elBulli – Cooking in progress
2011 – elBulli, Last Waltz
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
1989
Best maître d’. Awarded by Academia Nacional de Gastronomía.
1996
- Clé d´Or de la Gastronomie. Awarded to elBulli by the restaurant guide Gault-Millau.
- Restaurant of the year. Awarded to elBulli by the magazine Club de Gourmets.
1997
- Catalonia tourism merit Awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya.
- elBulli receives its third star from the Michelin Guide.
1998
Best maître d’ in Spain. Awarded by Gourmetour guide.
2002
- Spain tourism merit gold medal. Awarded by the Gobierno de España.
- Catalonia tourism merit gold medal. Awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya.
- World’s Best Restaurant. Awarded to elBulli by the Restaurant Magazine.
2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
- World’s Best Restaurant. Awarded during these years to elBulli by the Restaurant Magazine.
He is the co-author of more than 30 books (see annex).
…in addition to the many acknowledgements he received both in his lifetime and posthumously.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- El Bulli. El sabor del Mediterráneo, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. Antártida, 1993
- elBulli 1998-2002, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. elBullibooks, 2002
- elBulli 1994-1997, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. elBullibooks, 2003
- Cocinar en casa con Caprabo y Ferran Adrià, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. elBullibooks, 2003
- elBulli 1983-1993, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. elBullibooks, 2004
- elBulli 2003-2004, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. elBullibooks, 2005
- elBulli2005, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. elBullibooks, 2006
- Un día en elBulli, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Maribel Ruiz de Erenchun. elBullibooks, 2007
- A Day at elBulli, Ferran Adrià, Albert Adrià, Juli Soler. Photographs: Maribel Ruiz de Erenchun. Phaidon, 2009
- La comida de la familia / The Family Meal, Ferran Adrià, elBullirestaurante team. RBA / Phaidon, 2011
- elBulli 2005 –2010-11, Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. Photographs: Francesc Guillamet. Phaidon, 2014
FILMOGRAPHY
- La cocina fácil de Ferran Adrià. Ferran Adrià. 2005
- Catálogo audiovisual. Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. RTVE, 2009
- Un día en elBulli. Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. RTVE, 2009
- elBulli. Cooking in progress. Gereon Wetzel. A contracorriente, 2010
- El último vals. Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adrià. elBulli, 2011
…in addition to a large number of documentaries broadcasted on television channels throughout the world.
EXHIBITIONS
- From 2nd February 2012 to 3rd February 2013at the Palau Robert in Barcelona, entitled: “Ferran Adrià & elBulli: Risk, Freedom & Creativity”. This exhibition is also held between 5th July and 29th September at Somerset House (London), called: “El Bulli; Ferran Adrià and The Art of Food”, and later, from 15th February to 26th May 2013 at the Museum of Science (MoS) in Boston (Massachusetts), entitled: “Innovation in the Art of Food: Chef Ferran Adrià”.
- From 2nd June to 31st August 2014 at the Palau Robert in Barcelona, a public exhibition is held presenting the architectural and conceptual project for elBullifoundation in Cala Montjoi, sharing the background to the project and its plans and models.
Synthesis of elBulli's dinner service.
- The key figure of Juli Soler: a colourful personality who manages the serving staff and defines a style of high-level dinner service with informal professionalism that charms customers in an atmosphere that is discreet, comfortable and relaxed without relying on the strict codes typical in haute cuisine.
- The serving staff work hand in hand with the kitchen, in a constant evolution that pushes the boundaries of the gastronomic experience.
- Serving staff take an indispensable role in the organization prior to dinner service and in the role of setting the stage, transmitting experiences and as guardians of the rhythms through which the food service evolves.
- The revolution leads to a structural change in customer experience, in communication with the customer and in the organization of dinner service:
- The creation of a revolutionary customer offer based solely on a tasting menu that is personalised for each guest, without the option of an à la carte menu.
- The construction of our own reservation system to allow a detailed control of booking management that takes into account all necessary aspects relating to the customer.
- The incorporation of the innovations offered by new technologies to complement a personalised customer management.
- Leading to a revolutionary way of food service.
- The delicate nature of many of the elaborations means that the service of food needs to be finished on the table in front of the diner, so that the serving staff become an extension of the kitchen within the dining room.
- The incorporation of plating and tasting utensils.
- The symbiosis of kitchen and serving staff culminates, during certain moments of service, in the participation of chefs in the dining room to serve, finish or present the elaborations.
- In some cases, it is the diners themselves who finish the elaborations, enhancing the interaction with them and turning the diner into an actor in the experience.
- New experiences are incorporated into the choice of drinks, which complement the greater selection of wines following development and widening of the offer and developments in our cuisine in this field (which started in 1998 with the appearance of welcome cocktails prepared in the kitchen):
- Soda siphons: Mojito (2001) and carbonated drinks (2007)
- The world of coffee: Espesso (2003) and Passion Me (2004)
- Liquid nitrogen: Caipirinha-nitro (2004)
- Natural juices prepared in the moment (2007)
- The world of after-dinner infusions: Jardín de aromáticas (2008)
- A new concept for ice in cocktails: Nice-projects (2008)
- The interactive wine list (2005)
- A simplified table setting, changing from tables full of utensils and decorative elements, to a minimalist setting where the tasting utensils are placed before the diner in the precise moment in which the experience requires them.
- The presentation of dishes to the diners is simplified and naturalised, using a more specific and appetizing language, enabling us to transmit better the information necessary to give a greater appreciation and understanding of the experience.
- Dinner service employs a language, through which creativity, harmony, beauty, poetry, happiness, complexity, magic, humour, provocation and culture are expressed.
- The creation of a database with the clear concepts that dinner service requires for each elaboration: explanation, contents, techniques and concepts, table setting and, finally, recommendations to the diner about how to eat the elaboration.
- A break with the concept of a dinner service that is structured in a hierarchical/pyramidal way, implementing instead a horizontal structure where, although hierarchy exists, dinner service acts in a multi-functional and collaborative manner.
- This same concept of versatility is applied to other parts of the organization, such as the commercial, marketing & communication and infrastructural areas. This allows for an optimization of resources.
- The service staff take responsibility for functions beyond the dinner service itself.
- Dinner service consolidates its position as a benchmark for the dining experience, from the moment in which the customer arrives, to the end of the meal and afterwards. Human values such as warmth, passion for one’s job and a natural manner are allied to professionalism to create an approach that is distinctive in the world of haute cuisine.
