Massimo Bottura

Massimo Bottura
Massimo Bottura at the World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards
Born	(1962-09-30) September 30, 1962 Modena, Italy
Website
www.osteriafrancescana.it

Massimo Bottura (born 30 September 1962) is an Italian restaurateur and the chef patron of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena,^[1] Italy which has been listed in the top 5 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards since 2010 and received top ratings from ESPRESSO, Gambero Rosso and the Touring Club guides.^[2] Osteria Francescana was ranked 3rd World's Best Restaurant at the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2013.

Early Life and Career

Massimo was born and raised in Modena in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. He developed an interest in cooking from a young age after watching his mother, grandmother and aunt in the kitchen preparing family meals.^[3]

In 1986 he was studying law when he heard that a roadside trattoria was for sale on the outskirts of Modena. He decided to put his studies on hold then bought and renovated the building opening Trattoria del Campazzo a week later. Bottura then apprenticed himself to chef Georges Coigny to build his culinary foundation, a combination of regional Italian cooking and classical French training.^[4]

Bottura also worked with Alain Ducasse at Louis XV in Montecarlo in 1994.^[5] Ducasse invited him to stage in his kitchen following a surprise visit to Trattoria del Campazzo.^[6]

Osteria Francescana

In 1995 Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in the medieval city centre of Modena.^[7] His concept was to juxtapose culinary tradition and innovation with contemporary art and design.

Bottura then spent a summer at El Bulli with Ferran Adria, which encouraged him to continue pushing boundaries and re-writing rules with his cuisine.^[8]

In 2012, shortly after Osteria Francescana was awarded its third Michelin star, the restaurant closed for the summer for a period of refurbishment and opened with an updated insight into Bottura’s two biggest passions - contemporary art and avant garde cuisine.^[9]

Other restaurants and projects

Franceschetta 58, an informal dining brasserie and bar serving small plates was Bottura’s second restaurant project and opened in 2011 in Modena. This was a collaboration with Bibendum director Marta Pulini.^[10]

Bottura has also written four books, ‘Aceto Balsamico’ (2005), ‘Parmigiano Reggiano’ (2006), ‘PRO. Attraverso tradizione e innovazione’(2006) and 'Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef' (2014).^[11]

He is on the board of directors of the Basque Culinary Centre, a project directed by Ferran Adria.^[5]

After the 2012 earthquakes in the Modena region, which caused damage to millions of pounds' worth of Parimigiano Reggiano, Bottura worked with local producers to raise awareness of the situation.^[12] He also took part in the Crave International Food festival in Sydney in October^[13] and played the leading role in a festival in Taiwan, La Festa di Chef Massimo Bottura.^[14]

2013 saw Bottura take the role of Ambassador for Food in the Year of Italian Culture in the United States.^[15] He was also a guest of honour at the Cancun Rivieria Wine and Food Festival in March.^[16]

He opened his first restaurant outside of Italy on 27th of May 2014 in Istanbul-Turkey, which is called "Ristorante Italia di Massimo Bottura"

Awards

Accademia Italiana Della Cucina, Cucina Eccellente for Tratto del Campazzo (1991)
Michelin Guide, One Michelin Star (2002)
Gamero Rosso, Up and Coming Chef Award (2002)
ESPRESSO Guide Performance of the Year (2004)
Lo Mejor de La Gastronomia, International Award (2005)
ESPRESSO Guide, Dinner of the Year (2005)
Veronelli Guide, Three Stars (2005)
MICHELIN Guide, Two-Michelin-Stars (2006)
Golosaria, Creative Restaurant of the Year (2006)
Identita Golose, Best Creative Chef (2007)
Gambero Rosso, Three Forks (2007)
ESPRESSO Guide, Plate of the Year: Rice grey... and black (2007)
ESPRESSO Guide, Rating 19\20 (2007)
Consorzio Brunello Montalcino ‘Leccio d’Oro’, Best Restaurant of the Year (2008)
Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano ‘Golden Knife’, Man of the Year (2008)
ESPRESSO Guide, Plate of the Year:Garlic and snail soup (2008)
Gambero Rosso, Three forks (2008)
ESPRESSO Guide, Rating 19,5\20 (2009)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Highest New Entry (2009)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 13th Best Restaurant in the World (2009)
Accademia della Cucina Italiana, "Magnifico del Presidente" (2009)
Gambero, Plate of the Year: Tribute to Thelonious Monk (2009)
Les Grandes Tables du Mondes (2010)
ESPRESSO Guide, Highest rating recorded 19,75\20 (2010)
Identita Golose, Chef of the Year (2010)
BMW Guide, Restaurant of the Year (2010)
Andrew Harper Hideaway Report, Restaurant of the Year (2010)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Best Italian Restaurant (2010)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 6th Best Restaurant in the World (2010)
Grand Prix de l’Art de la Cuisine, International Academy of Gastronomy Chef of the Year (2011)
Modena Town All, Gold Medal of Honour (2011)
UNICEF Modena, Golden Spider Award Art and Culture (2011)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Best Italian Restaurant (2011)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 4th Best Restaurant in the World (2011)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Chef’s Choice Award (2011)
Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia, El Restaurante del Dia 9.25 (2011)
Michelin Guide, Three Michelin Stars (2011)
Gambero Rosso Guide, Best Restaurant Rating 95 (2012)
"ESPRESSO" Guide, Best Restaurant Rating 19,75 (2012)
Touring 2012 Guide, Best Restaurant Rating 93 (2012)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 5th Best Restaurant in the World (2012)
The Daily Meal, International Chef of the Year (2013)
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 3rd Best Restaurant in the World (2013)
International Mycology Amanita, International School of Culinary Arts of Valladolid (2013)
The World's 50 Best Restaurants, 3rd Best Restaurant in the World ([2014] Osteria Francescana)

References