Tom's Life Bits

By MARLENE PARRISH TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

BARCELONA, Spain – Who would have thought? Salvador Dalí was a foodie. He was obsessed with food. He wrote extensively about it. He even devoted a cookbook to his wife and muse, Gala, “Les Diners de Gala” (published in 1973 but now out of print). Dalí was an artist who defies strict classification. His prolific work includes drawings, films, illustrations, graphic designs, art objects and oil paintings. From childhood, he was thoroughly grounded in technique so that as an adult he was able to focus on the creative aspect of art. And on food.

Learning this was just too interesting for my husband and me – both writers and food lovers – and so we set off for Barcelona to explore Dalí's tastes.

Cosmopolitan, innovative, spectacular and welcoming: that's what Barcelona is. This 2,000-year-old city on Spain's Costa Brava has a number of lures for both tourist and student: art, architecture, music and history. And on the world's culinary scene, it is among the go-to cities for wonderful gastronomy.

Barcelona has been playing host to a yearlong party, Dalí 2004, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Salvador Dalí's birth in 1904. One facet of the commemoration is Art and Gastronomy, an edible homage to the artist with 30 restaurants presenting special menus of foods typical of the region and those often seen in Dalí's art.

We immersed ourselves in the Mediterranean city's culture for a week of playing, eating and learning. We also toured the three towns called the Dalí Triangle to see the egg-decorated Dalí museum in Figueres, a castle retreat in Pubol and the Dalí house-museum on the bay of Port Lligat, to the north of Cadaques, the fishermen's village where Dalí spent his childhood.

Though he experimented with impressionism, futurism and cubism, Dalí is best known for his work with surrealism. He used scientific procedures and optical instruments to create optical illusions, and he was one of the first artists to use his life and work as a marketing tool. When Andy Warhol was still in diapers, Dalí was well into mass marketing and consumption.

The Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, a small town about two hours north of Barcelona, is one of the most visited museums in Spain. The town's central avenue, or rambla, is lined with modest shops and sidewalk cafes. But, whoa, around a corner and up a block looms a huge red building that appears to be covered in tan polka dots and topped with – wait, yes, they are eggs. Huge eggs. After a closer look, it seems that the polka dots are pa de crostons, triangular breads, typical of the region, that are shaped to resemble toreador hats. Both decorations were a response to the artist's worship of these foods. “Bread has been one of the oldest subjects of fetishism and obsessions in my work, the number one, the one to which I have been most faithful,” Dalí wrote in his diary.

As for the eggs, Dalí explained that he and Gala were the children of Jupiter and Leda and were hatched from gigantic eggs. The moment they broke the shell that protected them, they became immortal brother and sister.

Dalí's famous melting clocks have also been linked to food. One hot August afternoon in 1931, as Dalí sat at his work bench nibbling at his lunch, he had one of his most stunning insights. Upon taking a pencil and sliding it under a bit of Camembert cheese, which had become softer and runnier than usual in the summer heat, Dalí was inspired with the idea for his now famous melting watches. They appear often throughout Dalí's works and are the subject of much debate. See, for example, the clocks in his painting “The Disintegration of Persistence of Memory” (1952).

A few other paintings featuring food are “Portrait of Gala with Two Lamb Chops Balanced on Her Shoulder” (1933), “Basket of Bread” (1945), “Still Life with Two Lemons” (1926), “Still Life – Watermelon” (1924), and “Soft Self Portrait with Grilled Bacon” (1941).

Of the 30 restaurants hosting Art and Gastronomy dinners this year, we chose Hotel Restaurant Llevant in the seaside town of Llafranc. The courses were served on locally made dinnerware. The cost was about $54; the meal included:

Pa de Crostons. This three-cornered crouton bread shaped like a toreador's hat is a favorite Dalí design tool.

Soup of Mussels with Saffron. Mussels and all shellfish are prominent in Dalí's art. The base of his installation, “The Rainy Cadillac,” is paved with mussel shells and his bed was decorated with shells.

Deep-fried Lamb Brain with Romesco. Romesco is a classic sauce of Catalonia. Lamb appears in Dalí's writings and on a painting of Gala.

Poached Eggs with Duck's Liver and Spinach. Eggs were a favorite Dalí icon.

Red Mullet with Bits of Sausages. Mullet is a typical fish of the area. Dalí loved the sweet botifarra sausage of Figueres.

Marinated Wild Boar with Beet purée. Wild boar is often seen on the Catalonian dinner table. The red beets represent a barretina, the scarlet cap of the region.

Chocolate Flan, Chocolate Ice Cream and Red Berries. Dalí loved chocolate. His favorite dish was said to be lobster with a chocolate sauce.