“What’s cooking?": Serendipitous opportunities and creative action in data collection

From 2005 to 2011 I was involved in a case study research project that evolved into an exploration into how the innovative chef Ferran Adrià and his collaborators in the famed Spanish restaurant elBulli organized their activities in the pursuit of creative freedom and a new culinary language, initiating change in haute cuisine (Svejenova et al., 2007, 2010, 2015). When I entered the field, it was already a highly regarded case that attracted a great deal of media and other attention. An “unanticipated, anomalous and strategic datum” (Merton, 1948, p. 506), of which I became aware and inquired about during my first interview with the chef concerning his debut interaction with art in a sculptor’s studio in the early 1990s, unlocked the conversation and permitted my return for further exploration. The research project concluded in July 2011 with the restaurant closing to become a foundation dedicated to culinary experimentation and innovation. My interest in it persisted, however, and I continued following “what’s cooking, " though from a distance.