Columbia University Press
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Copyright 2016 Columbia University Press
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E-ISBN 978-0-231-54163-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Opazo, M. Pilar (Maria Pilar), author.
Title: Appetite for innovation : creativity and change at elBulli / M. Pilar Opazo.
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016006100 | ISBN 9780231176781 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: elBulli (Restaurant)History. | Business incubators. | Organizational change. | Creative destruction.
Classification: LCC TX945.5.E44 O63 2016 | DDC 647.95068dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016006100
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Cover design: Lisa Hamm
Cover image: Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
J ust as mobilizing newness is not a solitary enterprise, the development of this book was the result of a series of efforts and contributions of many people who helped me move forward. Without their support and advice, this book would simply not have been possible.
My mentors at Columbia University provided great inspiration, encouragement, and advice that shaped my research throughout. I am immensely grateful to my advisor, Peter Bearman, for his great generosity, sharp ideas, and careful guidance. People who visited me at my office were surprised to see three Post-its that I had next to my computer, and which guided my writing: Have fun, Pick up flowers, Think crazy and wild! Three comments that, in fact, summarized Peters latest feedback. My conversations with him offered both intellectual stimulation and happiness throughout the entire process of developing this book.
My mentor Diane Vaughan introduced me to the richness of ethnographic work; she encouraged my care for details and the depth of my theoretical analyses. I am deeply indebted to her for her insightful and constructive comments at each step of this process, and for her keen (and often contagious) sense of humor. I am also very thankful to Priscilla Ferguson for her enthusiasm in my project from the very start. Her great knowledge of the sociology of gastronomy and cultural studies was very important in shaping this book. The many conversations that I had with Diane and Priscilla over good food or coffee will become food rituals by the time this manuscript is published.
I am also very grateful to David Stark for introducing me to the fascinating world of innovation and its connection with organizing and organizations. Conversations at his Center for Organizational Innovation (COI) at Columbia University have played an important role in my research since its very early stages. Finally, the creative chaos that emerged from my interactions with Harrison White was highly influential in my work. I hope that this book can reflect, at least in part, the valuable advice that I obtained from each one of them and the privilege of having them as my mentors.
In developing this book, I was fortunate to work closely with Daro Rodrguez and Ramn Sangesa. Ever since I was an undergraduate student, Daro has not only read everything that I have written (including quite unpolished versions of this book), he has also fostered my sociological imagination in ways that I would never have expected. I am very proud to say that he continues to be my dear friend and mentor to this day. Ramn joined me in many of the adventures involved in this research and was a constant source of positive energy behind my work. I am very thankful for the opportunities he has given me and for all the doors that he has helped me open.
This research was supported by a Fulbright grant and by a grant from the Technical University of Catalonia (#C08505) awarded by Telefnica Digital. I am deeply indebted to Pablo Rodrguez for his constant support and relevant comments at various stages of this investigation, and also to Oriol Lloret, Mara Jos Tom, and Lars Stalling for their continuous encouragement and insightful suggestions. Telefnica Digital provided me with a stimulating space to write while I was in Barcelona and to present my ideas when they were still under development. I am extremely grateful for this.
In the final stages of my project, I had the opportunity to be part of the Mellon Fellowship at the Interdisciplinary Center of Innovative Theory and Empirics (INCITE), Columbia University. I also helped form and joined the Initiative for the Study and Practice of Organized Creativity and Culture (ISPOCC) at the Columbia Business School. The lively dialogues that I shared with these groups greatly inspired this book. In this respect, I am particularly thankful to William McAllister and Damon Phillips for their kind mentorship and constant support.
Friends and colleagues made this book a better one by providing substantive intellectual and practical support. Special thanks to Constanza Miranda for writing with me and for pushing me to search for the unknown; to Consuelo del Canto and Diana del Olmo for accompanying me at all stages; and to Rosemary McGunnigle-Gonzales for the countless phone conversations that we had about my work. Many thanks to Fabien Accominotti for sharing his great knowledge of the art worlds with me and for always being open to discuss new ideas, even if they were largely unrelated to his work. Thanks to Ifeoma Ajunwa, Juan and Jean Capello, Alfonso Cruz, Daniel Fridman, Carmen Gloria Larenas, Federico Leighton, Anna Mitschele, Kristin Murphy, Olivia Nicole, Trinidad Vidal, and Anna Zamora for their friendship and advice at various stages of this book. My foodie friends, Michael Nixon and Naja Stamer, read earlier drafts of the chapters and gave me comments when I much needed them. Thanks to Adriana Freitas for our long walks in Barcelona, and to Laia Sanchis for offering me a wonderful place to stay. The help of Katie Kashkett and Deanna Villanueva significantly improved this book by incorporating their editorial skills into this project, for which I am extremely grateful. Special thanks to Patricia Yage for making this a fun project by introducing her design skills into it, and for stimulating many creative sparks that are part of this book. Finally, my conversations with Dora Arenas during my coffee breaks provided much inspiration and joy to my otherwise lonely days of writing.
I am enormously grateful to Ferran Adri and the elBulli team, and to each one of my respondents for being generous and curious enough to contribute to my research and, ultimately, to make it happen. My gratitude also goes to two anonymous reviewers at Columbia University Press for their insightful readings of an earlier manuscript and for their helpful and inspiring comments and criticisms.
Last but not least, I want to thank my family, and the love of my life, Jose. My dad, Eduardo Opazo, was the first to encourage me to contact elBulli, and he later read successive drafts that kept pushing me forward. My mother, Maite Bretn, was always there for me to talk about my work, and in doing so, she brightened (and continues to brighten) each one of my days. My sisters Magdalena and Maite greatly contributed to this book by engaging in active discussions about my ideas while they were still being cooked. My husband, Jose, has been my companion in every step of this process and my greatest source of inspiration and love.
