Latest news with #Bottura
New York Post
12-05-2025
- New York Post
I'm an Italian chef — here are the most common food mistakes tourists make in my country
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. It's important to adapt to the cultural rules of another country when visiting it — especially regarding food. World-renowned Italian chef Massimo Bottura recently shared the food mistakes he often witnesses many travelers making when visiting his home country. Advertisement According to Bottura, one of the biggest blunders is rushing a meal. 'In Italy, dining is not a transaction. It's a ritual. Meals are meant to stretch for hours.' That means sipping, talking, tasting, and letting go of rigid expectations around speed and structure,' he told Travel & Leisure in an interview. 3 'In Italy, dining is not a transaction. It's a ritual. Meals are meant to stretch for hours,' the chef explained. FornStudio – Advertisement And if you're a picky eater by choice — that won't be tolerated by most waitstaff in Italy, according to Bottura. 'Asking for substitutions or off-menu changes in a traditional trattoria can come off as disrespectful,' he said. 'The chef's vision matters — it's part of the experience.' 3 Italian chef Massimo Bottura hard at work in the kitchen. Getty Images When in Rome, do as the Romans do — so put down that soda and indulge in a glass of local wine, instead. Advertisement 'Each Italian region has its own incredible vintages. Exploring them is part of the adventure,' the chef explained. Bottura isn't the first Italian to point out people's food mistakes. A TikTok chef (@cookslasheat) took to the social media app to complain about how most people make Bolognese sauce — a slow-cooked meat-based sauce often served over pasta. 'This is a super simple dish — you do not need a jar of [tomato] sauce — which by the way is disgusting,' he said in his video that has been viewed over 205,000 times. Advertisement 'And you don't even need tomato — not from a can, and not from a vine.' Similar to Bottura's sentiment about savoring every bite of a meal — this chef's method of making a good sauce is about taking your time and not rushing things. 'And if you want something that's quick for dinner, don't do something that needs to be slow-cooked,' chef Alex said. After browning your meat and softening your veggies — onions, carrots, and some celery — add in tomato paste, garlic, a cup of red wine and a splash of water. The key to a good sauce, according to the TikTok chef, is letting it sit for one to three hours. After that, the chef advised adding a splash of milk and pasta water to the Bolognese sauce before coating the pasta with it. 3 After that, the chef advised adding a splash of milk and pasta water to the Bolognese sauce before coating the pasta with it. – Advertisement And if you're wondering what type of pasta you should pair with the meat sauce: 'Fresh tagliatelle is delicious and oh so satisfying to twirl onto your fork when you're tucking into your dinner,' Chef Sophie Nahmad suggested to the Daily Express. 'Due to the wider shape, it's a great pasta to pair with a thick, meat-based sauce,' she said.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Interview: 'The most important ingredient is culture,' says chef Massimo Bottura on his visit to Bengaluru
Chef Massimo Bottura has a passion for food that has not dimmed with time. A four-decade long career, three Michelin stars, and the frequent distinction of being the world's best chef; but his eyes still light up when he explains how he makes ragu. We meet in Bengaluru for a freewheeling chat. The conversation flits from stories about dining with Michael Schumacher in the '90s, to how his golden retriever Thelonious Monk probably needs to go on a diet. We speak of Pope Francis, King Charles, Enzo Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Lou Reed, and the United Nations. But what strings it all together, the underlying rhythm, is his passion for cooking and food. The reason for Bottura's visit to Bengaluru on April 24 was a pop-up at Le Cirque Signature at The Leela Palace in partnership with Culinary Culture, a community co-founded by Vir Sanghvi. The dinner, which came with a hefty price tag of ₹50,000 plus taxes, was sold out. His name is enough for diners to shell out the sum, dining at a Bottura restaurant is a culinary pilgrimage. He owns the renowned Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, which topped the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants twice and has three Michelin stars. He has teamed up with Ferrari and Gucci for restaurant chains across the world. He had opened the now defunct Torno Subito in Dubai. He claims he does not like the city, and the way his staff was treated. Breaking the rules 'When I started out in the '90s, people used to say, 'have you heard of that crazy Italian who is breaking the rules?' They used to say, 'Go quick because the restaurant will close by the end of the year because no one is going there'.' Osteria Francescana is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Bottura's elevated Italian cuisine is path breaking, modern and out of the box. The menu in Bengaluru features classics from his menu at Osteria Francescana, like the famous dessert Oops! I Dropped The Lemon Tart. It was created when a fellow chef accidentally dropped the lemon tart before service, and Bottura ran with the idea. The deconstructed dessert has lemon custard, sorbet, hot pepper oil and savoury capers. The dish is plated by the chef himself at the dinner. The Crunchy Part Of The Lasagna is an homage to his favourite part of the dish — the edges of lasagna. And the Pasta Al Pesto in abstract is made without pasta, to emphasise the importance of the pesto sauce. For one of his dishes, a controversial take on Bollito Misto, a beloved northern Italian meat stew, he delved into history that goes back to the Dark Ages. 'The most important ingredient for the chef is culture. Culture makes you see things in a different way.' His food is about looking back to the past and bringing it to the present. Tackling food waste The iconic chef also has a number of soup kitchens across the world, in his bid to champion causes such as food waste, sustainability and food equity. He runs the not-for-profit Food for Soul. For his efforts, he was recently appointed as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Advocate by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. 'It was a reflection of what I have done in the past 10 years. I believe that the peripheries of the cities bring light to the cities. Like in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, New York. This was the vision of Pope Francis. He said do not focus on the centre, focus on the periphery. The periphery needs light,' he says. On earth we produce food for more than 12 billion people, while we are only 8 billion. The rest goes to waste; almost 33% of what we produce. 'This is not acceptable.' He wants to start a silent revolution. 'India feels like home' For the Bengaluru dinner, he had to adapt his menu. There was no beef, and there were more vegetarian dishes. 'But I love a challenge.' This is his third pop-up in India, one in Mumbai in 2022, and in Delhi in 2024. 'I love India and India loves me. There is something so deep in your culture that attracts me. I have travelled to many places, South Africa, Tokyo, New York. But I never feel at home like I do here.' It is one of the reasons he says he does not want to open a restaurant here. He wants to visit in leisure, and not turn it into a business opportunity. Music, movies and art is something Bottura draws from constantly for inspiration. He has made tasting menus based on The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the music of Bob Dylan. The 30th anniversary celebratory tasting menu at Osteria Francescana is themed on the 1954 Italian movie Miseria e Nobiltà — Misery and Nobility. The movie questions poverty and privilege, through the lens of culture and food. A theme that is close to Bottura's heart. Inspiration is always finding Bottura. His mind is focussed 'like a samurai' and he is always on. I ask him what his comfort food is... what he reaches out for at the end of a long day. 'I bring home ingredients from the restaurant. It could be a good piece of Parmigiano, beautiful anchovies, or fresh mozzarella. This helps me keep my palate at a certain level, so I can discern the differences between one Parmigiano and another. It is an exercise.' I ask if there are any guilty pleasures, like a late-night instant ramen? He laughs at the idea. Apart from his many awards, Bottura's Osteria Francescana was also given a Michelin Green Star in 2020. The Michelin Green Star is given annually to restaurants that are at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices. In 2015, the very first episode of the Netflix show Chef's Table featured Bottura. In it he spoke about how he broke all the rules of Italian cuisine, and how controversial that was in the country. In 2019 Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People included Bottura. This honour was given to him for his community kitchens called refettorios, that currently spans nine countries. In collaboration with Ferrari, he re-opened Ristorante Cavallino in the city of Maranello. This is the restaurant where the brand's founder Enzo Ferrari used to dine. The site where it stands today was initially opened as a canteen for the Ferrari workforce. It opened to the public in 1950. A fan of motorsports, Bottura owns a custom Diavel 1260 S bike from the Italian motorcycle brand Ducati.
New Indian Express
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Made in Modena
These are all titles that I don't care about every day. These are not things that influence your life. What I really care about is the future,' says chef Massimo Bottura, who is widely regarded as the 'best chef in the world', with his Michelin 3-star restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, having been declared 'The Best Restaurant in the World' by The World's 50 Best Restaurants, once in 2016, and again in 2018. Bottura, a visionary known for revolutionising Italian cuisine by pushing the boundaries of the 'nonna' style of cooking (a way of preparing food with simple, classic techniques, often using fresh, seasonal ingredients) explains that his preoccupation is with constant innovation. 'Most of the time, people don't understand what you're doing and why. Last year's tasting menu was called Globale with flavours that are part of the Italian market right now. People said 'this is crazy' and that I'm 'contaminating Italian cuisine' but no, I'm just shaping the future. In 10 years, everyone is going to cook like this,' he asserts. Visiting the city for the first time recently for a pop-up at The Leela Palace Bengaluru, Bottura brought his signature dishes like Oops I Dropped the Lemon Tart, The Crunchy Part of the Lasagne, and Psychedelic Cod Not Flame Grilled, to an exclusive audience, charging ₹50,000 per meal (excluding alcohol). Speaking to him about food means listening to him connect Picasso's works to Lou Reed's music and tie them into an explanation about the source of his creativity. 'It's one of my biggest passions for 45 years and it [art, music, poetry, and cooking] is all part of the same page,' he explains, adding, 'Culture helps you open unexpected doors, and then, you keep working and experimenting.' Bottura's culinary roots can be traced back to the place Osteria Francescana sits and where he grew up, surrounded by the cooking of his mother and grandmother – Modena. It was here, that Bottura learnt something he prioritises in his work to this day: the value of sustainability and community. 'Modena is called the food valley of Italy. It's where Balsamic vinegar is created, but also parmigiano, prosciutto – all the iconic products of Italy. When your life becomes successful, you learn to give back; our first goal was fighting food waste,' says Bottura, who has been named a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) advocate by the UN. Recalling a brief conversation with the recently-deceased Pope Francis regarding the same, he shares, 'It's so insane that in 2025, we have to keep fighting [to reduce food waste] and keep trying to raise awareness. Pope Francis was like that too. When we met at the G7 Summit, he said, 'What about your refettorio (soup kitchen)?' I told him we had 13 of them and he said, 'That's very good, that's what the world needs – people who think about others.'' Having visited India, particularly Delhi and Mumbai, when asked how he sees India's culinary landscape, Bottura confesses it to be the reason why he keeps returning. 'India, Mexico and China have always had great cuisines but very nostalgic. Something I noticed after coming back here is that Indian cuisine is now getting more contemporary and culturally open,' he says. In his time in Bengaluru, Bottura has managed to sample a yele oota. 'We spent the evening experiencing a classic dinner on banana leaves, with different elements, eating with our hands. The flavours – from spiciness to sweetness to moving from one preparation to another – were amazing. I really love it because we were playing with the food and moving things around. It is more the ritual of eating together that makes it so memorable,' he says.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Chef Massimo Bottura hosts a special dinner in Bengaluru for ₹50,000. Here are the details
'Namaskara, Bengaluru!', says chef Massimo Bottura ahead of his visit to the garden city. The award-winning chef has won numerous accolades, including Michelin Stars and is frequently called the best chef in the world. He is now heading to Bengaluru for a two-day pop-up at the Le Cirque Signature restaurant in the Leela Palace Bengaluru, on April 25 and 26, 2025. Bottura's restaurant Osteria Francescana has three Michelin stars and was listed at the Best Restaurant in the World by The World's 50 Best Restaurants, twice -- in 2016 and 2018. Bottura is also known for his dedication to sustainability and was given the Michelin Green Star. He runs non-profit organisation Food for Soul that prevents food waste. He also champions issues such as food scarcity. He is the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In Bengaluru, the dinner is in partnership with The Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts and Culinary Culture. Bottura will be making some of his most iconic dishes, such as Oops I Dropped the Lemon Tart, The Crunchy Part of the Lasagne, and Psychedelic Cod Not Flame Grilled. The dinner is priced at ₹50,000, plus taxes, without alcohol. It will include appetisers and cocktails on arrival, a six-course seated dinner and a photo opportunity with Bottura. He says, 'I am thrilled to visit your beautiful city for the first time with my team from Osteria Francescana. With Culinary Culture and The Leela Palace Bengaluru, we are preparing two special dinners featuring my most iconic dishes. I love India—the food, the culture, and the people—and I cannot wait to give you all a big Italian hug!' Watch this space for more... The dinner is priced at ₹50,000, plus taxes per head. At Le Cirque Signature -The Leela Palace Bengaluru. April 25 and 26, 7 pm. For more details, call 9606583346
