Massimo Bottura

With tremendous passion and a transgressive philosophy, Bottura believes chefs must harness culture to make a difference. At Osteria Francescana, his 3-Michelin-star restaurant in Modena, Bottura plays with music and contemporary art to create beauty and pleasure, but also to spread his message, which questions Italian tradition from a critical and non-nostalgic point of view. Using exquisite seasonal foods from his region, Bottura has conceived imaginative and innovative dishes like Oops! I broke the lemon cake, or Pollution (a statement against nuclear pollution). Osteria Francescana was named Best Restaurant in 2016 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Bottura also advocates for social and environmental campaigns. At the Expo Milano 2015, he set up the Refrestorio Ambrosiano: a kind of soup kitchen where people in need could eat lunch made with leftovers from the Expo. This project was designed to call attention to the fact that millions of tons of food are thrown away every year. Working with local partners, Bottura has taken this model of a social soup kitchen on the road to Rio de Janeiro (during the 2016 Olympic Games), London and Modena.