Spanish chefs have caught a creative fever," declares José Carlos Capel, the influential, forward-thinking food critic for El País, Spain's largest daily. In the late 1970s, a group of Basque chefs modernized Spanish cooking by borrowing nouvelle cuisine ideas from France. That prepared the way for the Ferran Adrià-led avant-garde revolution of the '90s, introducing groundbreaking concepts like smoke-flavored foam and Parmesan ice cream sandwiches. Today Spanish chefs continue to innovate, determined to translate Adrià's radical concepts into personal and increasingly accessible food. In this interview, Capel examines Spain's past, considers its future, and talks about where he eats when he needs a break from high-concept cuisine.