El Bulli Serves Its Final Meal

El Bulli, the renowned restaurant along the Spanish coast that captivated the palettes of tourists and food devotees alike, served its final dinner Saturday night.

The last supper marked the end of an era for a culinary destination that has been ranked consistently among the best in the world. On the final menu were characteristically original dishes like "Clam Meringue," "Olive Spheres," and "Hot Cold Gin Fizz," the Times of India reports.

Throughout its 24-year history, the restaurant has served some of the world's most intricate and creative food. In his 2008 review of the restaurant, food critic Matthew Jukes wrote that El Bulli presented "the most otherworldly culinary experience I have ever encountered."

Ferran Adrià became the restaurant's head chef in 1987, and he presided over the kitchen as El Bulli won its second and third Michelin stars. Restaurant Magazine went on to rank the restaurant the best in the world a record five times. Under Adrià's leadership, the El Bulli staff also blazed a trail in the field of molecular gastronomy, studying the chemical properties of ingredients in order to create groundbreaking cuisine.

The result of Adrià's penchant for experimentation was a menu of unprecedented diversity, containing dishes like "pine nut marshmallows" and "steamed brioche with rose-scented mozzarella," recipes for which the chef included in a cookbook published in 1993.

In recent years, El Bulli struggled to stay profitable, despite the fact that reservations for the restaurant filled for its six-month season almost immediately after they became available. In April, the restaurant announced on its website that it would reopen as a think tank for chefs and food experts and will be managed by a private foundation.

[Check out Slate's El Bulli dish-name generator here.]