Roca Bros. Developing Somni, a Culinary 'Opera' in Acts

Joan, Jordi, and Josep Roca, the three brothers who run El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain (three Michelin stars and ranked #2 in the world), are developing Somni, an audiovisual private dinner service.

As Rosa Rivas reports in El País, Somni is an interactive dining experience with "food and drink, video, robots, music, and card games." It is designed to be staged on December 12th and will consist of 12 acts, 12 courses, and 12 diners. The impetus for the idea came from Jordi Roca, the restaurant's pastry chef, and the award-winning video artist Franc Aleu. "Inspired by gastronomic scenes from the 17th century and the French chef François Vatel, the creators of Somni are presenting an interactive story with contemporary culinary tools."

Early word of this project came back in March, and news of its fruition makes the project the latest in a series of efforts from renowned chefs to push the interdisciplinary aspects of cooking. There is Barcelona's Albert Adrià, neighbor to the Rocas, who has re-concepted his cocktail bar 41 Degrees as an intimate tasting menu restaurant with an audiovisual installation from artist Javier Milara (see ridiculous food porn here). Fat Duck chef Heston Blumenthal developed an elaborate animation — narrated by the actor John Hurt — for guests to see before they even arrive at his restaurant in Bray.

In the United States, the progressive chef Grant Achatz, of Chicago's Alinea, has been talking about "thinking off the plate" since last year. New York's Eleven Madison Park recently reformatted its three-Michelin-star experience to incorporate the history of the city, including card tricks.

· Cine sabroso a pedir de boca [El País]
· All El Celler de Can Roca Coverage on Eater [-E-]