Food that tastes like earth, like sea foam?

Food that tastes like earth, like sea foam?

Sounds like an international destination.

WSJ.com - The Next Big Flavor

For the past year, Jeff Peppet, a marketing executive at Givaudan, has been hunting for the right chefs around the world to sign to deals that give the company access to their latest ideas. While reading about a restaurant in Girona, Spain, called El Celler de Can Roca, a line startled him and drew his interest: The story said that the three chefs, who are brothers, were serving an extract of earth for dinner. He also heard that the pastry chef makes desserts that imitate the aroma of best-selling perfumes.

"I said to myself, these guys are doing something really different, really interesting and really exciting," says Mr. Peppet, who flew to Spain last week for a 5½-hour lunch at the restaurant. The chefs brought everything from earth-flavored mousse and seawater foam to a chocolate and foie gras bon bon to the table. The meal ended with a dessert that tasted like Gucci's Envy perfume smells. Mr. Peppet, who says he'd never eaten such a long lunch nor tasted earth-mousse, whipped out a contract at the end of the meal, which the brothers are currently reviewing, he says.