Early in the year 2008, Juli Soler and Ferran Adrià, the co-owners of one of the world's most celebrated eateries, elBulli, located at Cala Montjoi outside Roses on the Costa Brava of Spain, were weeks away from launch for another season. As usual, the booking lines had been inundated instantly for the 2008 season. Each year, elBulli served 8,000 individuals from almost one million reservation requests. How could you describe such unassailable demand?
Maybe the never-ending press reports declaring Adrià the "best chef in the world"? Perhaps the fact that elBulli was put by all food guides that are honored at the top? Did it have to do with its startling creativity, with elBulli's menu? Whatever the answer, it was undeniable that elBulli and Adrià represented the Spanish vanguard.
The enterprise had grown to contain countless novels, a catering service, cooking classes all over the world, a hotel, a franchise fast-food concept, and collaboration with multinationals promotion products. What was the magic recipe of elBulli? What made the restaurant an essential bit of the Ferran mythology although - to the surprise of many outsiders - it wasn't that profitable? The question for Soler, Adrià, and others on the team was, in thinking about the 2008 season: what next?
PUBLICATION DATE: April 04, 2008 PRODUCT #: IES214-HCB-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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