Emotional evening at the Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona. Juli Soler was honored this Tuesday night by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition, at a gala dinner served by the Via Veneto restaurant, attended by some of the most prominent chefs and sommeliers in Catalonia, members of the academy, and friends and family of the former director, front-of-house manager, and inventor of El Bulli, alongside Ferran Adrià.
Attendees agreed in defining Juli Soler, who passed away seven years ago, as an "unrepeatable figure in Catalan gastronomy" and remembered him for his "unique personality that changed the rules of the game in a restaurant's dining room." "Thanks to his spirit of service and his ability to discover talent, El Bulli not only achieved three Michelin Stars but was also considered the best restaurant in the world five times, four of them consecutively, on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
"Today we pay tribute to an unrepeatable figure in our country's gastronomic culture, a genius, an incomparable international reference like Juli Soler," emphasized the academy's president, Carles Vilarrubí, in a welcome speech that was preceded by appetizers prepared by chef David Andrés's team. The iconic Via Veneto steak tartare was the most sought-after in this preliminary phase of the event ---used by attendees for networking---, along with Jabugo ham croquettes and foie bonbons. As a tribute to Soler, Roman-style calamari, one of his passions, were also served.
"Juli Soler was one of those people who leave a mark; he was unrepeatable and magical," added chef Carme Ruscalleda, vice-president of the academy, who received a huge round of applause from the attendees after blessing the tables with an Our Father, reinterpreted, however, to praise Soler's figure.
According to the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy, "from his endless legacy stands out having discovered and promoted the most original chef of the early 21st century, Ferran Adrià." "Soler was able to sense Ferran's genius, and they lived, for years and in harmony, as one person, in a unique setting and environment." Adrià, who is also a member of the academy, was one of the chefs present at the tribute, although he did not speak, choosing to give all the prominence to Soler.
In addition to Ruscalleda and Adrià, chefs, sommeliers, and other gastronomy professionals such as Javier Torres, Oriol Castro, Fina Puigdevall, Joel Castanyé, Carles Gaig, Javier de las Muelas, Juan Carlos Ibáñez, David Seijas, and Agustí Peris attended the dinner. Also seen, among many others, were academics Ramon Agenjo, Valentí Roqueta, Paco Solé i Parellada, Rosa Mayordomo, Miquel Brossa, Toni Massanés, Paco de la Rosa, Jaume Masana, and Ferran Rodés. The former president of the Generalitat, Artur Mas; the Minister of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, Teresa Jordà, and other members of the department, such as Carmel Mòdol and Ramon Sentmartí, also did not want to miss the event.
Joan Font, vice-president of the academy, praised Soler, recalling the admiration he had for professionals such as Fermí Puig and Josep Monje; he coincided with the latter working at the old Reno restaurant in Barcelona. This memory filled his son, Pere Monje, with satisfaction, as he was in charge of ensuring that the dining room service ran perfectly throughout the evening. The meticulous and experienced waiters of Via Veneto were assisted by students from the Barcelona cooking school Eshob.
The three dishes and desserts served at the tribute dinner were paired with two wines chosen by two of El Bulli's reference sommeliers and two others that were Juli Soler's favorites. Thus, the sea goat and king crab cocktail was paired with an Ikigall 2021 (DO Penedès), produced by the Gallina de Piel Wines winery, led by David Seijas, one of the historical sommeliers of the famous restaurant in Cala Montjoi.
The second dish was a version of an El Bulli classic, the Gaudí red mullets, which were served with a glass of Le Domain Blanco 2019 (Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla y León), from the Abadía Retuerta winery. This wine was, without a doubt, the one that aroused the most positive astonishment among the diners, as it received widespread praise. It was chosen by Agustí Peris, who now works at Abadía Retuerta and who, according to Ferran Adrià, was the most talented sommelier to pass through the Girona restaurant.
To accompany the Royal Hare with which the dinner culminated, the Yonna 2006 wine (DO Campo de Borja), from the producers Rotem & Mounir Saouma, whom Soler considered part of the El Bulli family, was chosen. "Juli loved that wine, but he always complained because it was too cheap," they explain. Finally, the nougat flan that concluded the meal was paired with another of Soler's great passions: a Pedro Ximénez from the DO Jerez.
Born in Terrassa in 1949, Juli Soler learned the trade and how to be helpful thanks to his parents, with whom he began working at just fifteen years old in a spa. In his early days, he was a waiter's assistant at the Gran Casino de Terrassa and the Chalet del Golf de Puigcerdà. He spent a year at the Reno restaurant in Barcelona, until he decided to accompany his parents in the adventure of running the restaurant of the Josa electrical material factory, currently known as BJC.
An enthusiast of rock and Anglo-Saxon music, Soler shifted his career towards the world of music, working as a DJ and importing records that he sold in his store Transformer, which closed in 1980. At that moment, he decided to change his life, after having gone bankrupt as a music promoter. "Soler was an example of strength, resilience, and fighting spirit," said Joan Font.
He was able to reinvent himself thanks to the fact that in 1981, the owners of El Bulli, Marketta and Hans Schilling, entrusted him with the creation and direction of a new project aimed at taking the restaurant in Cala Montjoi, located in a secluded spot, to a new stage. "The project ended up proving to be a successful model and exceeded all expectations," the academy recalled. With Yves Kramer in the kitchen in an initial stage, it was with Jean-Paul Vinay that he won the second star. In 1990, he acquired ownership of the establishment with Ferran Adrià, with whom he won a third star, which they never lost.