In 1995, Bottura opened his now three Michelin star restaurant, Osteria Francescana in Modena. Every dish takes you on a dining experience like no other. His wildly imaginative creations involve the amalgamation of tradition and innovation. Dishes are based on his childhood memories, art, but also mishaps in the kitchen.
Bottura pays tribute to Modena’s river with his signature dish ‘An Eel Swimming up the Po River’. A short film is played, showing a swimming eel encountering various Modenese ingredients before the plate is served. In another dish, Bottura sees the beauty in imperfection with his amusingly titled dessert ‘Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart’. It was based on a story when the pastry chef at Osteria Francescana dropped a lemon tart before it was about to be served. The chef saw this has a disaster, however, Bottura saw the charm in the mess he had made. From that day onwards, the dessert has always been served “broken”.
His celebrity status has won him appearances on mainstream platforms. You can catch him in Netflix’s ‘Chef’s Table’ and in the American comedy ‘Master of None’. His platform has also allowed him to give back to the community. He founded a series of
community-based projects including ‘Food for Soul’, a non-profit organisation which raises awareness of food wastage and hunger.
Bottura has been asked how these projects address the future of food and he replied, “One only needs to look at it with the right eyes”.
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Sophie Oxley
Image: Wikipedia