Chef Massimo Bottura has been named “Best Chef In The World,” and in 2018, his three-star Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy was named the “World’s Best Restaurant.” An Italian restaurateur, Bottura’s establishments have received top ratings from ESPRESSO, Gambero Rosso and the Touring Club guides. Bottura himself has also written multiple books, including 2005’s Aceto Balsamico, 2014’s Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef and 2017’s Bread Is Gold.
But Bottura is also notable for his charity work. He and his wife Lara founded the non-profit association Food For Soul which aims to empower communities to fight food waste through social inclusion. Food For Soul, together with the non-profit organization Gastromotiva, opened a community kitchen in the heart of Rio De Janeiro during the Olympics known as Refettorio Gastromotiva. Even after the Olympic games finished, Refettorio continued to run as a social restaurant.
While Chef Massimo Bottura was in New York City for Identità Golose, the acclaimed International Chefs Forum at Eataly Flatiron, he answered some questions for me about his past, present and future. More on Bottura can be found online at www.osteriafrancescana.it, while Food For Soul keeps a home at www.foodforsoul.it.
How does it feel to be considered the number one chef in the world? Does that add a lot of pressure to your work?
Chef Massimo Bottura: We have always been a small restaurant with big dreams, and being awarded “number 1 restaurant in the world” means that all of the sacrifices we have made collectively and individually have been worth it.
I attribute this award to our ability to stay true to our passions, to stay humble, and to continue with the same work ethic we began with 23 years ago. This award means a lot to me: it means that we — my team and I — have been able to communicate our mission and share our passions with our guests and the public at large. From our point of view, mine and that of the whole team, anything has really changed. The passion, humility and work ethic of the previous years stayed exactly the same, even after this incredible achievement. This means that we don’t feel any other responsibility or burden on us, because what we do every single day is to work as a team at its best. I always say, that every service is like the final match of the World Cup of soccer.
Number one ranking aside, is there a career accomplishment you are most proud of?
Chef Massimo Bottura: I feel very lucky to wake up every morning being happy of what I do. Osteria Francescana could never be anywhere else than in Modena, in Via Stella, 22. I love biking around the city center, cheering people on the street, as well as the guests waiting outside the door of the restaurant. My team is my family, we play soccer every Saturday afternoon, during the break between lunch and dinner; we celebrate every birthday party with tiramisu and water bombs. Doing what I love the most: this is the greatest accomplishment of my life.
Is there anything you haven’t yet accomplished as a chef that you still hope to?
Chef Massimo Bottura: At a certain point of my life, I realized that it was time to give back everything I have learned in years of hard work, sacrifices, as well as satisfactions and awards. I had it all, so why not sharing it with the others? This was also the moment in which I realized we chefs have a voice. My friends and I have greater responsibilities than before: we are asked to get out of our kitchen and listen to our communities. Responsibilities are not only towards the guests of our restaurant, but also towards our communities and the whole food system.
From this thought, me and my wife Lara founded Food For Soul in 2016, a non-profit organization that supports communities in the fight against food waste and social isolation. Many chefs have cooked at our Refettorios, by transforming food surplus otherwise thrown away into nutritious meals to those in need, and many other will join. Eventually, cooking is a call to act.
What do you wish more people knew about you? Is there a passion of yours besides food that you regularly work on?
Chef Massimo Bottura: Besides food, my biggest passions are art and music. They let me vehicle emotions, and I want to share all of those things with the people around me. When I first began looking at contemporary art, I found it confusing. With time, reading, research and more looking, I began to see that contemporary art forced me to look at the world from another point of view. Once I began to do this, I felt my eyes were opened and could no longer stay shut. I had discovered a remarkable new world.
Art is a point of reflection. The artist’s thoughts are often an inspiration to me and to the kitchen. Through the artist’s eyes you can see the world in a magical way, not the everyday life but the poetry of life. Joseph Beuys said: “We are the revolution.” He thought that art could transform and heal the humanity. And I’m deeply convinced that culture is the key of success, because culture breeds knowledge. And knowledge leads to consciousness. That’s what I try to do everyday with my kitchen: open my world and invite guests in to see things from another point of view.
Music, as well, is a big source of inspiration, because it has the power to transport me to another place and time. I listen to music when I am happy and when I am sad; when I want to get lost in the improvisation I listen to jazz, and when I want the words take me on a journey deep into my soul I listen to the blues and [Bob] Dylan. I take inspiration from everything I see and experience around me. I make obvious and odd connections, sometimes abstract and other times concrete, I take inspiration from everything I see and experience around me. We are not here to serve food to hungry bellies but to hungry minds.
Recent appearance in New York aside, what do you have coming up? Any projects you can talk about?
Chef Massimo Bottura: In my future, I see more future. We are working on several projects, and many of Food For Soul are actually looking up for the States. Rockefeller Foundation is supporting us to grow sustainably and to expand in the U.S.: a clear message that shows how many other people and institutions are sharing our same mission.
Finally, Chef Massimo, any last words for the kids?
Chef Massimo Bottura: My advice to kids is the same my father-in-law gave me nearly 20 years ago: “be like a tree, grow slowly.” Never stop dreaming nor allow the daily routine to shut down your creativity. My advice is to read, travel, listen to music, be a citizens of the world, be humble, be a team player, help others.
You have to take your time in order to understand who you are, where you come from and where you want to go. You have to broad your mind, then and only then you can discover your true motivations, passions and inspirations. And only now, after what I’ve done over my 30-years career, I see that Ken Gilmore was right: it’s like a tree — recognition came slowly — but it will come.
