What Barcelona Chef Albert Adria Eats for Breakfast

Chef Albert Adria--Ferran's brother and owner of Barcelona's hottest restaurants--has late nights, late mornings, and an addiction to fruit

By Bon Appétit

July 9, 2013

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Welcome to My Morning Routine, where we take a look at how people kick-start the day. And by "people" we mean celebrities.

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Albert Adria is one of the busiest--and, ahem, best--chefs working in Barcelona, so the last thing he wants to worry about is breakfast. After stepping out of the shadow of El Bulli and his brother, Ferran, the man has a lot to deal with: There are his three hot-spot restaurants (Tickets, 41 Degrees, and Pakta), plus three more projects in the works (specifically, a vermouth bar, a Mexican restaurant, and a cocktail bar). It makes juggling all the culinary madness almost as difficult as getting a reservation at any of his establishments. But thankfully, the younger Adria is up to the task, making all of his restaurants within walking distance of each other (and of his apartment) and sticking to a positively formulaic morning routine. Which is good, because with all the buzz he's been generating, we don't see his schedule lightening up anytime soon. --Kirsten Stamn

I get up around 10 because I don't go to sleep until 3 or 4 a.m. The restaurants in Spain don't close until very late--about 1:30. So I get home about 2, watch a little news, and then will go to bed. When I get up, I'll put on the TV, watch some more news, and get out of bed around 11. That's when I turn on my phone and eat.

Breakfast is always fruit--pineapple and bananas, mostly. Apples are expensive, and pears aren't that good, normally. When they're in season, though, they're very good. And I can't do oranges.

I'll also have a little yogurt. And later, a coffee: double espresso with milk.

I can't eat that much in the mornings. When I eat too much, I get sleepy. Plus, when I get to the restaurants, I have to try everything. And everyone here eats family meal at 4:45.

Sometimes, though, I'll do something different and get an entrepa [a sandwich made on a mini baguette rubbed with tomato] from the shop across the street from Tickets. They're very fine and quite large. So sometimes I'll get a sandwich with jamon and a carbonated water.