What does lust taste like?
The seven deadly sins, the evil fruit of concupiscence, were cataloged and defined (along with their punishments and their contrary virtues) by Pope Gregory I, for the good government of Catholics. Bosch painted them on the famous polychrome panel acquired by Philip II, which is kept in the Prado Museum, and the poet Dante Alighieri humanized them in The Divine Comedy. They have inspired novels, songs, poetry and even gruesome movies like Seven, directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, including a serial killer.
Now Andoni Luis Aduriz has given them flavor, color, smell and texture, reinventing them in a culinary key . Undoubtedly the most pleasant version -and greedy- of all those that have been made. The result is a box in the shape of a wooden tower that is presented to diners along with the coffee. One more invitation to reflection from the enjoyment to which the Mugaritz chef has us so accustomed.
The boxes with the seven deadly sins
From top to bottom compartments open up , marked by a mysterious sign that represents each of the sins.
The first we find is the arrogance . In it is the origin of all others. It was the sin that Lucifer committed when he wanted to be like God. A Mugaritz dessert from a few years ago, entitled La vanidad **(edible bubbles, dedicated to cooks and their egos)**, prelude to pride, was the inspiring germ of this tower. Pride tastes like cocoa, it looks like a chocolate, with golden tinsel on the outside and nothing inside. Magnificent representation of the emptiness that sin contains, of the propensity of the human being to believe what he is not.
"Skinny and yellow" Quevedo saw envy, which leads to wish evil on others and feel good with the misfortune of others. For Aduriz, it is bitter like cocoa (70 percent) and has the shape of an ancient coin : no two are the same, whoever is curious to know what his table companions are like will have to be willing to share it. You are envious?
Anger is spicy and sticky, a bright and attractive marshmallow , flavored with cayenne, which burns in the mouth, perfect identification.
The avarice it is the exaggeration, the uncontrolled desire to accumulate, to possess. To the surprise of the misers, the tower compartment corresponding to this sin is completely empty . Neither taste nor smell, just frustration.
Although we identify it with gluttony, gluttony, which represents any excessive consumption, would be one of the most characteristic sins of today's society. Temperance (or moderation) is its opposite. To provoke our gluttony and measure temperance, at Mugaritz they have combined the two most popular flavors, the sweet and the salty: chocolate-coated fried corn, a hit of umami that encourages you to not stop eating the little kikos scattered around the little wooden drawer.
And we get to the lust , the most carnal sin, the one produced by thoughts of a sexual nature, and therefore one of those that generates the greatest condescension. Primary, simple and direct , a temptation difficult to resist that the Mugaritz team has imagined in the form of sensual white chocolate cream with strawberry puree . A sweet syrup with fruity and acid notes that is eaten by sucking or licking.
Laziness is pure metaphysics and, to see if the diner succumbs to it, it is placed at the end of the tower: a hazelnut and chocolate bonbon, so sweet, heavy and cloying that you don't feel like eating it. Weariness and boredom in the form of candy . A contradiction ends such a sinful series with no other intention than to make us think.
Do you dare to try them?