Massimo Bottura on Ethics, Aesthetics, and Slow Food

The Italian chef Massimo Bottura may be a big dreamer, but he’s also a firmly grounded-in-the-earth operator. Based in Modena, Italy, Bottura is famous for his three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Osteria Francescana, which has twice held the top spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He also runs Food for Soul, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting social awareness about food waste and world hunger. With its first Refettorio opened in 2015, Food for Soul now runs a network of 13 Refettorios around the world—from Paris to San Francisco to Naples—designed to serve people in need via food-recovery programs. In 2019, with his wife, Lara Gilmore, he also opened Casa Maria Luigia, a hospitality concept in the Emilian countryside that became the jumping-off point for their new recipes-slash-interiors book, Slow Food, Fast Cars (Phaidon). In everything he does, Bottura keeps the tradition of the Emilia-Romagna region alive while constantly imagining and executing new possibilities. On this episode, Bottura discusses the art of aging balsamic vinegar; his vast collection of thousands upon thousands of vinyl records; his deep love of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Maseratis; and how he thinks about the role of time, both literally and philosophically, in and out of the kitchen. Special thanks to our Season 9 presenting sponsor, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts. Show notes: Massimo Bottura [03:27] Food for Soul [03:27] Refettorio Harlem [03:27] Refettorio Ambrosiano [03:46] Universal Exposition in Milan [15:36] Carlo Petrini [10:40] Gastromotiva [12:30] “Chef Massimo Bottura on Why the Future of Food is in Our Trash” [15:22] Slow Food, Fast Cars [15:36] Trattoria del Campazzo [56:07] Casa Maria Luigia [58:50] Osteria Francescana [41:32] Cavallino [41:32] Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia [43:30] Joseph Beuys [43:30] Lara Gilmore [1:01:42] Tortellante