Small Bites: Food on view at the Fine Arts Theatre

Culinary alchemy: Mixing up magic at elBulli. Photo still from El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

In celebration of Curaté tapas bar's first anniversary (has it been that long already?) the restaurant will host a showing of the movie El Bulli: Cooking in Progress at the Fine Arts Theatre on Monday, March 5. A question-and-answer period with Curaté's Katie Button and Felix Meana will follow the movie presentation. Button is fresh from Denmark, where she interned under chef René Redzepi at Copenhagen's Noma.

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress documents one year in the life of chef Ferran Adrià, the mastermind behind the progressive cuisine of the now-shuttered elBulli in Spain. Both Button and Meana, recent newlyweds, worked at elBulli. Button's tenure there has gotten much attention, notably in Lisa Abend's book, The Sorcerer's Apprentices.

Button, a former doctoral candidate in the field of neuroscience, decided to drop the lab coat for the chef variety at a young age, working with chefs Johnnie Iuzzini, José Andrés and Michael Voltaggio in her mid-20s. While working for Andrés, Button met Meana, the respected chef's consultant and also the chef de rang of elBulli. Felix introduced Button to Spain and the kitchen of elBulli, where Button found herself in a laboratory of a different sort in Adrià's temple to molecular gastronomy.

The trailer for the elBulli movie looks intriguing, especially for anyone who finds Adrià's style — a mix of culinary artistry, innovative technique and chemistry — fascinating. In one scene, Adrià explains to his rapt disciples gathered before him in the kitchen what a service period at elBulli is like. "After four hours, when you're almost at the end of the menu, the more the bewilderment, the better," he says, flashing a slightly impish smile. Button also makes an appearance in the movie.

The evening at the Fine Arts Theatre will include an elBulli-inspired snack, served in brown bags during the movie.

Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and children. Purchase them at the Fine Arts Theatre box office, located at 36 Biltmore Ave.

Also on Cúrate's agenda is "An Adventure in Cooking: The New Nordic Table," a culinary showcase of skills that Button picked up at Noma this winter, hosted at Warren Wilson College. Button, with Gunnar Karl Gislason, the executive chef and co-owner of the restaurant Dill in Reykjavik, will host a Nordic-themed dinner.

The event will be held on Saturday, March 24, with a foraging session beginning at 3 p.m. and a tour of the Warren Wilson College campus at 4:30 p.m. Appetizers and dinner immediately follow at 6 p.m.

Tickets are available through Cúrate’s website: http://www.curatetapasbar.com. For more information about the film, visit http://www.elbullimovie.com.

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