MADRID — Fernando and Alberto were saved by food. Or, rather, they were saved by their talent for turning ingredients into gastronomic works of art.

The story begins in 1974. Fernando is a dedicated sous-chef in a French restaurant in Barcelona and Alberto, his brother, is a cook, more interested in political struggles than in soufflés.

A confrontation with the police drives them to flee the city, take refuge in the small town of Cadaqués, Spain, and take charge of the kitchen in a surrealist restaurant whose owner's one obsession is to get Dalí to dine at one of his tables.

This story is not exactly real – Dalí is, of course, and so are his culinary tastes at the time in Cadaqués – but it all serves as the basis for a culinary comedy, one of this summer's Spanish film highlights, Waiting for Dalí (Esperando a Dalí).

Anyone who sees the film, directed by David Pujol, can linger on many things — its obsession with Dalí, the romantic plot, the eternal summer feel of its shots — but, above all, they will remember the food. The film shows the brothers cooking, choosing the best raw materials and discovering delicious tastes in the port's bars, and we also see them plating dishes with an almost avant-la-lettre art of culinary sophistication.

It is no coincidence: behind the fictional food by the sibling chefs is the truly inspired Ferrán Adrià, former head chef of celebrated restaurant El Bulli.