Gastronomy

How Tradition and Innovation Merge to Make Eye-Catching Cuisine

Written by Audrey Jaber Photos by Joshua Enzolaia

Coconut caviar, edamame in the shape of a single-cell organism and a white chocolate sponge cake that resembles a planet floating through the cosmos: these are the types of dishes that you can expect from chef and gastronomist Joshua Enzolaia. Enzolaia has always had an interest in cooking. He spent his childhood in A Coruña, Spain, cooking with his mother and grandmother, before discovering his passion for gastronomy, a study which focuses on the relationship between food and culture, combined with the art of preparing and serving appetizing dishes. “Gastronomy is the way I express my feelings and emotions to people through a plate,” Enzolaia explains. “My goal when I cook is that the diner can get to feel what I have felt when cooking that dish. The most important thing is to be able to transmit emotions.” Enzolaia fuses his Spanish roots with foods traditional in the Netherlands, where he has lived for the last five years. “My food is based on starting from traditional cuisine, and transforming it by merging various cultures and techniques without losing the essence of the product,” Enzolaia says. Despite the traditional base of his food, the dishes that Enzolaia makes today are far from conventional. From spherification and gelification to flash freezing and emulsification, many of the techniques that Enzolaia favors sound straight out of a science fiction novel. Who knew that hazelnut could be transformed into caviar spheres or that beets are capable of becoming a gel, powder and foam? “I like to use chemical processes in the food to change the texture,” Enzolaia notes. “I always want to make new experiences for the diners.” He certainly

accomplishes that goal, as the average diner probably hasn’t tried anything like the distinctive dishes that he dreams up. All of Enzolaia’s dishes feature bright colors and intricate designs, like a landscape of the ocean floor or the tentacles of an octopus arranged in the shape of a seahorse. These dishes— and many others that Enzolaia creates— feature octopus, his favorite food to work with. “I’m from a city where our famous dish is the octopus, so all my favorite dishes start with it,” Enzolaia says. “But now, my octopus is completely different than what I learned with my family and what we do in my city.” Much of Enzolaia’s cooking today differs from what he learned back in his grandmother’s kitchen. Gastronomy is an ever-changing practice that favors innovation and creativity. “It’s something that’s changing all the time,” Enzolaia remarks. “There are always new techniques.” For Enzolaia, the future includes embracing a more sustainable way of cooking, in addition to the latest gastronomy techniques. “I’m starting a restaurant,” he says. “It’s a one hundred percent sustainable restaurant and the menu is one hundred percent vegetarian.” This restaurant will be located in a completely renovated church, following Enzolaia’s tendency to fuse the old with the new. In everything that Enzolaia does, he aims to provide the diner with an unmatched and enjoyable experience. “I don’t want to make sad dishes. I always try to make a happy plate that makes you smile first, and then you want to try it,” Enzolaia says. “It’s like life. Nobody wants to have a sad life.”