Food

30 Years Of Passion With Massimo Bottura, The World's best Italian Chef

In conversation with the maestro of Modena as he reflects on three decades of Osteria Francescana.

It’s 30 years since the extraordinarily acclaimed and internationally influential Massimo Bottura opened Osteria Francescana, a three Michelin starred destination restaurant in the Italian city of Modena. Accolades, awards, books, international TV appearances, leading brand partnerships and, above all, a huge public profile have accompanied its incredible success.

There are now 13 restaurants in the Francescana Family portfolio, including collaborations with Gucci and Ferrari, the Villa Manodori balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil brands, and a suite of groundbreaking social enterprises. At the time of our interview, in fact, Massimo Bottura’s son Charlie is in Rome cooking tortellini. It’s part of Tortellante, a Modena based training organisation supporting young people on the autistic spectrum. Like Charlie.

And who’s dining on those typical Modenese pasta parcels? No less than the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale, the presidential palace.  “It’s the third time they’ve done it,” says Bottura proudly. “When Tortellante started, there were two grandmothers, a retired butcher, and four [autistic] kids.

Now Tortellante includes 50 grandmothers and 45 families, they make tortellini for our little osteria Francescetta58, for Francescana and our other [local] restaurant Cavallino. Nice, right?” Very nice.

Bottura and Gilmore also run Food For Soul, a world wide group of beautifully designed “refectories” (community hubs) feeding those in need, based on combatting food waste. And, after two years’ restructuring and building new dining spaces, there’s a newly upgraded Casa Maria Luigia – a beautiful 18th century Modena country house designed to create a “home away from home” for a few dozen nightly guests.

With all these achievements, and 40 years since his cooking career began, one might expect a period of reflection. But that’s not Bottura’s style. A chef, restaurateur, lover of Maserati, Ferrari and other Italian Motor Valley supercars and motorbikes, as well as art, music, community and social responsibility, he’s more of a “what’s next” kind of person – ever on the path to creating change.

“It’s hard to look back at the past, everything I’ve done, our huge ride,” he tells me, on the eve of the Osteria Francescana anniversary date. “I’m putting together a list of all our awards and recognition but not even really planning to celebrate. My main question is, what will the future look like? In my future, there’s always a future.”

THE ORIGINS OF MASSIMO BOTTURA'S GENIUS

Tracing back that huge ride, it began in March 1985 when, after rejecting his father’s pressure to continue a law degree, Bottura took work at a local eatery called Trattoria del Campazzo. He was soon joined by his “second mother”, Lidia Cristoni, a practised pasta chef who also taught him how to run a restaurant. She went on to work at Francescana until her passing in 2019.

Classic French fine-dining techniques progressed thanks to a two Michelin-starred chef-mentor Georges Coigny, who ran a restaurant in the nearby Apennine hills. Bottura later interned with Alain Ducasse, also. A decision to travel and broaden his skills took him to New York where he met his now wife, US-born Lara Gilmore, mother of Charlie and daughter Alexa – and a driving force behind their combined success. In March 1995, they opened Osteria Francescana, on a cobblestone street in the centre of town.

It’s useful to remember that Modena and its surrounding region – Emilia-Romagna – is famous for an endless list of authentic Italian products, from balsamic vinegar to Parmigiano Reggiano, prosciutto di Parma (the real deal), Lambrusco (the good stuff, not the sweet, fizzy iterations) and of course, tortellini and lasagne.

All part of Bottura’s DNA. And yet, from the outset, he matched tradition with innovation. “Looking nostalgically at the past, my grandmother cooked better than me. But if you look at things with a critical eye, you can transform the past into the present, and make tradition contemporary,” Bottura explains. The now-iconic Francescana signature dishes include a take on tortellini in brodo pasta parcels in a classic meat and “aromatics” (veg and herbs) broth, which become ‘Tortellini Walking on Broth’ – pasta parcels sitting beside a clear gel sauce.

There’s Bottura’s delicious ‘Crunchy Part of the Lasagne’, served only as the crisped, yummy, edge-of-the-oven-tray bits. And the hilariously named ‘Oops, I Dropped the Lemon Tart’, literally born from a kitchen blunder by his chef, Takahiko Kondo: a smashed tart became the inspiration for a re-worked version, including a lemongrass ice-cream, spiced tart shell strips and a fluff of zabaione.

The clincher, for Bottura, is more than just technique. It’s the story. “Good food is just technical,” he elaborates. “People leave a restaurant, they remember it as a new experience, a good restaurant, but if they feel emotion, it stays forever and they want to come back.” The emotions, for him, go back to his region. And to a childhood spent in the kitchen. “The kitchen was where everyone was together, my mother, my grandmother – a fundamental space for me.

I grew up under the table, where I felt safe. Even now, if times are tough or I’m feeling fragile, I shut myself in the kitchen with my guys. Always. It’s my safe place.” Safety is one thing. Daring to be bold is another. La rivoluzione siamo Noi | We are the revolution is a 1972 silkscreen artwork by German artist Joseph Beuys.

On show at Casa Maria Luigia, it’s become something of a motto for Bottura, who readily confesses that it was Gilmore who opened his eyes to the power of contemporary art. “Lara taught me to look at what an artist is thinking,” Bottura acknowledges. “It changed my vision… It’s also about doubt, and challenging yourself... It’s very tiring!”

MASSIMO BOTTURA AND REFETTORIO

Tired is not a word one would ever associate with Bottura. His latest emblematic dish – with an underlying social message – won Dish of the Year in Italy’s prestigious annual L’Espresso Guide Awards. “It’s the ultimate mashup of global vibes,” L’Espresso enthused. ‘From Gragnano to Bangkok’ (see recipe) is a take on the classic spaghetti with tomato and basil.

Gragnano, near Naples, is home to Italy’s finest dried pasta. Bangkok, to Bottura, represents the fusion of cultures that is Italy’s present population. “From the classic spaghetti, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, we have gone to using fresh buffalo mozzarella, coconut, lemongrass and ginger – all things you can find in our local markets. We press the coconut and lemongrass and ginger, add five different kinds of tomato – concentrated, as tomato water, fermented, sweet and acidic – and it tastes like pad Thai.

You think you’re in the markets in Bangkok! That, for me, is the future.” It also connects to the strong social conscience that fires the Bottura brain. In the lead-up to Expo 2015 in Milan, conversation began about its theme: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. Bottura was asked to take part, in some way. But, as he wrote in his book Bread is Gold, “I realised that no one was asking us chefs for our opinions or our ideas. No one was asking us how to feed the planet.” And so a suggested solution was presented – cooking with wasted food for people in need.

The very first Refettorio was set up in an abandoned theatre in a dingy part of town, complete with designer furniture, artworks and a well-equipped kitchen (thanks to donations). Its success led to the non-profit Food For Soul association and a world-wide reach – as far as Australia.

In a partnership sparked by a Bottura-Gilmore visit to Sydney in 2017 and a meeting with its inimitable founder Ronni Kahn, the Refettorio OzHarvest in Sydney’s Surry Hills echoes the Food For Soul mantra – a designer fit-out, beautifully presented dishes made with rescued food, courtesy and comfort for all who visit. “We share core beliefs – dignity, respect, beauty, art, culture and food,” Kahn told me at the time of opening.

Since then, Food For Soul has launched a total of 13 Refettorio partnerships world-wide – from Brazil to Harlem to Paris. And there are hopes, Bottura hints, for a new one very soon.

CASA MARIA LUIGIA – CASA MIA È CASA TUA

Particularly close to Bottura and Gilmore’s hearts is the luxuriously eclectic Casa Maria Luigia. Located in the Modena countryside and surrounded by the flat farmlands of the Po River plain, it is a former 1770s farmhouse remodelled into a grand country home. A just-completed renovation has created what Bottura describes as “a playground for grown-ups”.  

He elaborates: “We are showing all the artworks we’ve bought over 40 years – sometimes you can get marvellous things for a bargain price. We have 10,000 vinyls (including my mum’s classics and opera, jazz, rock – mostly jazz), which people can listen to in a space that feels like home.

And maybe taste some of our balsamic while you’re at it!” That balsamic vinegar is ageing in more than 1,200 perfect barrels, with organised tasting sessions. And then of course there are cars. And motorbikes. The Modena DNA, again. “There was a motor business here called De Tomaso, famous in the 1970s,” he continues. “We also have Lamborghinis, lots of Ducatis, Maseratis and Ferraris – you can see these in the playground. Like a car museum.”

Such trimmings are more than mere trophies, to Bottura. “I’m doing what I believe in,” he concludes. “I want my children to be proud of what we’re doing. It’s what I try to teach all young people, go deep into what you’re interested in, keep believing, because once you dive deep, your interests become your passion.”