It is no secret that I have been waiting for the publication of Massimo Bottura: Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef for the past months. Published on 6 October by Phaidon, I have to say that this book went way beyond my expectations, despite the fact that the anticipation was high. For those who are not familiar with Massimo Bottura, this Italian chef is considered to be the most avant garde Italian chef in the world. His restaurant, Osteria Francescana has three Michelin stars and is at the moment considered to be the third restaurant in the world in the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards. In 2011, he was also given the Chef's Choice as the best chef in the world by his colleagues. The book, Never Trust a Skinny Chef, which I read from start to finish in two days, is an exceptional read. Having had the pleasure to meet Massimo and listen to him explain his philosophy of cooking, reading his book was actually like listening to him explain the creative process that has gone into … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura, René Redzepi raise awareness on food waste – 40 per cent of all food produced wasted
Two of the world's greatest chefs Italian Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana and René Redzepi of Noma both raised the issue of food waste during their one hour presentations at the Dutch avant-garde cuisine festival in Zwolle on 14 and 15 September 2014. When the Italian chef took the stage on Sunday evening in the Netherlands he called for action to reduce food waste. 1,300,000,000 tonnes of food is wasted each year (1.3 billion tonnes). "Is it possible that we can waste so much? Is this sustainable?" he asked. "I think it is not," Bottura said to large applause. Redzepi of Noma said on Monday that food waste was a horrific thing which needed to be tackled. "40 per cent of all the food that is produced is wasted. We have an obsession with prettiness which makes us abhor a crooked carrot or vegetable. One of the tasks we set ourselves was to work not only to find new pillars of cuisine but also to ferment our way out of food waste. Waste nothing is the catalyst to our … [Read more...]
Chefs (R)evolution – superb first day
The first day of Chefs (R)evolution in Zwolle, Netherlands was a huge success. Presentations by some of the world's top chefs including Massimo Bottura, Jonnie Boer, Richard Ekkebus, Tim Raue and Dave Beran were incredibly well received by a very attentive audience. Bottura, the renowned Italian chef of Osteria Francescana stole the limelight with a passionate one hour presentation on fostering creativity. Aimed mainly at young chefs, many of whom were in the audience, he spoke of the importance of following one's passion, of being oneself and of being authentic. His rallying call, which was welcomed by the audience and which drew huge applause was "Study, read, follow your interest whatever this may be." Taking inspiration from music and contemporary art, Massimo Bottura announced that he would be working at the Milan Expo to raise awareness about global food waste. Boer spoke about the importance of producers. "Chefs are always in the limelight but it is the producers and the … [Read more...]
What I enjoyed reading this week (5)
It has been a depressing week in the news. The above photo which was shared by Gambero Rosso on their Facebook thread while being humorous pretty much sums up my feelings for the week. Wherever you look in the media, whether it is the news on television, newspapers or even social media sites, you see photos of destruction. And you ask yourself why? Why is this happening? Why is there so much hatred? Please stop to think about what is happening and what we could do to try and make a difference. In any case, these are a few links to articles/video I enjoyed this week. My readers by now know that I have a fascination with Massimo Bottura, who is considered as Italy's most creative chef. Here you will find a fantastic interview about the creative process and evolution in his cooking. If you need some creative inspiration I recommend you watch it. This is a beautiful piece of writing in its own way. In this article, Eric Asimov, one of my favourite wine writes looks at the … [Read more...]
Osteria Francescana – the pursuit of perfection
Italian chef Massimo Bottura is a genius who has brought Italian cuisine to a completely different level. If France is renowned for its obsession with classics and Spain is the culinary hub of innovation, Italy is steeped in tradition. It is a country which takes its critics seriously. I remember a football coach once saying that the country had 60 million football coaches. A chef, I am not sure if it was Bottura, once said that there are as many food critics. These food critics will obsess about whether any fish dish should be served with cheese (this is a taboo for many in Italy) and I can understand why. Italians shudder to think of mixing cheese with fish for example though there are some very minor exceptions. You can normally spot an authentic Italian pizzeria anywhere in the world by looking for their Pizza Marinara. If it has mozzarella, the chances are it is not run by Italians. Bottura, with his Osteria Francescana, however, plays in a different league. Having gone in … [Read more...]