He's one of the most celebrated chefs in Italy, but you won't find simple pasta dishes at Massimo Bottura's two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Osteria Francescana. Kerstin Kühn talks to him about his progressive cooking, and his plans for the London version of Identità Golose, where he will join a line-up of chefs from around the world
Massimo Bottura isn't your typical Italian chef, and his restaurant, Osteria Francescana, isn't the kind of restaurant you'd expect to find in Italy.
No simple pasta dishes or risottos feature on his menu; instead his cuisine adheres to the kind of progressive and eccentric cooking you would normally associate with Spain's Ferran Adrià or our very own Heston Blumenthal. Foams, airs, modern techniques and deconstructed dishes all epitomise Bottura, whose development kitchen at the back of his restaurant resembles a laboratory.
But it's not molecular gastronomy that defines this chef. In fact, like many of his contemporaries, Bottura refuses to be branded under the term. "Cuisine isn't about molecular or traditional; fusion or nouvelle cuisine," he says. "Cuisine is about what is good and what is not good."
Located on a tiny side street in the wealthy town of Modena, Osteria Francescana has a homely feel. The restaurant is filled with cookery books from the great and good of 21st century gastronomy - Alain Ducasse, Ferran Adrià, Daniel Boulud and Heston Blumenthal - while the intimate 27-seat dining room feels like it could be Bottura's house. Indeed during our meal, the chef regularly pops into the restaurant to greet diners, explain dishes and ensure everyone is happy. His passion for the produce he uses and the emotion his food aims to convey is truly infectious.
Bottura describes his cooking as "a creation of my passion for art, music and food and a reinvention of the flavours of my youth interpreted through avant-garde".
Dishes such as "reinterpretation of a mortadella sandwich" - a soft, spongy mortadella-flavoured foam served with a slice of toast and a line of pistachio dust on the side - or "five different ages of Parmigiano Reggiano in five different textures" - each in a different form, ranging from a crisp to an air vapour - are cases in point. While showcasing the profound influence of the philosophy and techniques of the molecular gastronomy movement, Bottura's food is deeply rooted in the flavours and traditions of his own heritage.
And who can blame him? The region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy is home to some of the country's greatest food and wine producers and glorious ingredients such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Prosciutto di Parma, Sangiovese di Romagna and Colli di Rimini to name just a few. Bottura uses these products in a way that respects yet reinvents their tradition. For example, his take on Magnum ice-cream takes the form of a foie gras parfait on a stick, covered with hazelnuts and almonds, with a surprise liquid centre of extra old Aceto Balsamico di Modena.
"The dish plays with traditional conformity and draws on the pleasure of eating such a childhood classic with your hands," he explains, insisting cutlery is left aside.
Although Bottura is now one of the most celebrated chefs in Italy, when he first opened Osteria Francescana in the mid-1990s, his cooking didn't immediately hit the spot with local food lovers and restaurant critics.
"It was difficult at the beginning," he recalls. By putting controversial dishes like "tortellini dancing on the broth"; "is this grilled turbot?" or "abstract smoking fish" on his menu, he admits he went too deep into the world of provocation, producing scepticism in his audience.
"Eventually my wife told me not to just be provocative and to go back to basics," Bottura recalls. "'Show them how you draw,' she said. So I started again, making simple plates of tagliatelli and tortellini, using the best possible ingredients. In the end I won them all over."
He was awarded a Michelin star in 2002, which boosted both business and his own profile nationally, while the second star, which followed in 2005, and a place in the top 10 of the World's 50 Best Restaurants helped to lure an ever-growing international crowd of foodies.
Today, Osteria Francescana is one of Italy's most recognised restaurants and Bottura is one of the country's most acclaimed celebrity chefs. At the recent Identità Golose event in Milan, he was named Italian chef of the year by its founder and Italian food editor Paolo Marchi as well as best Italian chef of the present and future by former mentor Alain Ducasse.
a visit to london
Next month, Bottura will be at the London version of Identità, where he will be joined by a stellar line-up of chefs from around the world.
"Identità has played a major role in putting Italian food on the international map and it exposes the very best of Italian cooking," he enthuses.
"It brings together a very important group of chefs, who have become very close over the past decade and who are exporting the best of Italian food and its diversity. In Italy a chef from Emilia-Romagna will express himself in a totally different way from a chef in Sicily. It's the best part of Italy."
The theme of Identità London will be The Luxury of Simplicity, which centres on the creation of dishes using less celebrated ingredients that require the intuition and creativity of the chefs, as well as their skill and artistry, to elevate their flavours.
Bottura's interpretation of this includes a dish entitled "the potato that wants to be a truffle". "It's a dish that conveys a message of hope," he explains. "The potato breaks the borders between salt and sugar and becomes the last dish on a tasting menu."
The dessert, which comprises a sweet potato filled with sweetened hazelnuts, vanilla foam and a generous topping of black truffle, takes an ingredient as simple as the humble spud and turns it into the star of the menu, while allowing another glimpse into Bottura's creative and artistic mind.
"The way I cook isn't about making money," he concludes. "It's about being recognised. I'd run a pizzeria if I wanted to make money. This is much more than that. It's a dream. I am living my life as a dream."
Identità London, Vinopolis 7-8 June 2010
What is it?
Now in its second year, Identità London is an international gastronomic congress. Founded by Italian food editor Paolo Marchi, it is based on Identità Golose, which Marchi established six years ago.
"I wanted to create an event where chefs could exchange ideas and develop their cooking," he told Caterer, adding that until recently Italian chefs were very protective of their innovations and tended to squabble publicly about which culinary methods they thought were the best.
After attending Madrid Fusión seven years ago, Marchi realised that a similar event in Milan would allow Italian chefs to share ideas and techniques. Identità Golose was born, and since then Marchi has mixed top Italian chefs with their contemporaries from around the world - including Pierre Hermé, Rene Redzepi, Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal - as well as rising stars such as Paco Morales.
What's the theme?
This year's theme is The Luxury of Simplicity, which reflects the growing trend towards more simple and natural cuisine. It will centre on the creation of dishes using less celebrated produce, which requires the intuition, skill and creativity of the chefs to elevate the flavours of each ingredient.
Who's exhibiting?
In addition to the main stage events, a selection of specialist artisan producers will be showcasing the very best in Italian food, wines and spirits.
• For further details, programme and updates visit www.identitalondon.com
Chefs at Identità London
Italian chefs
- Massimo Bottura, Osteria Francescana, Modena
- Gennaro Esposito,Torre del Saracino, Naples
- Davide Scabin, Combal Zero, Turin
- Niko Romito, Reale, L'Aquila
- Andrea Berton, Trussardi alla Scala, Milan
- Chicco & Bobo Cerea, Da Vitttorio, Bergamo
International chefs
- Daniel Patterson, Coi, San Francisco
- Wylie Dufresne, WD50, New York
- Alex Stupak, WD50, New York
- David Chang, Momofuku, New York
- Alvin Leung, Bo Innovation, Hong Kong
- Alexandre Gauthier, La Grenouillere, Montreuil-sur-Mer
British chefs
- Jason Atherton
- Sat Bains, Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
- Heinz Beck, Apsley, London & La Pergola, Rome
- Ashley Palmer-Watts, The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire
win win win!
To ensure free entrance to Identità London and to enter Caterer's prize draw to win one of 20 hampers of fabulous Italian products, simply register your details with ivan@lotuspr.co.uk, quoting "Caterersearch" in the e-mail.
In addition, the organisers of Identità London will be holding a prize draw for pre-registered attendees. The first name out of the hat will win dinner for two at Heinz Beck's Apsleys restaurant at the Lanesborough hotel, Hyde Park Corner, London
Five different ages of Parmigiano Reggiano in five different textures
INGREDIENTS
For the demi-soufflé (serves six)
200g lightly smoked organic ricotta
100g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 24 months old
60g egg white (whisked to soft peaks)
40ml cream
Salt and pepper
For the galette (serves six)
50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 40 months old
10g softened butter
5g corn starch
For the air (serves 10-12)
500cl broth of Parmigiano Reggiano crust, 40 months old
500g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 50 months old
3g lecithin
For the mousse
125g capon broth
100g cream
250g Parmigiano Reggiano, 30 months old
Salt to taste
For the sauce
50g Parmigiano Reggiano, 36 months old
40g unfiltered capon broth
30g cream
Salt to taste
METHOD
For the demi-soufflé
Whip the ricotta (lightly smoked for about 3 minutes). Blend the Parmesan and cream until smooth and add it to the ricotta. Fold in the egg white and bake for about 10 minutes at 180ºC in a buttered 15cm soufflé dish. Remove from the oven and place a quenelle of demi-soufflé on a plate.
For the sauce
Place the broth in a Thermomix. Bring it to 60e_SDgrC on speed 3. Add the grated Parmesan and bring the temperature to 85e_SDgrC increasing the speed to the maximum until a velvety cream is obtained. Sieve the cream.
For the air
Blitz the cold broth with the grated Parmesan. Filter it through a coffee filter paper and refrigerate at 2e_SDgrC. Transfer the filtered liquid into a large bowl. Add the lecithin, allow it to dissolve and use a Bamix to create the air.
For the galette
Mix the butter, Parmesan and corn starch together very quickly. Spread a thin layer of batter on a Silpat in a triangular shape proportional to the plate. Bake at 200ºC for 2 minutes, so that it browns slightly without becoming bitter.
For the mousse
Bring the capon broth to the boil in a Thermomix, set to speed 3. Add the Parmesan a spoon at a time. Add salt to taste. Increase the speed to maximum for another minute. Allow to cool. Place the mix in a siphon. Slowly add the cream a bit at a time while shaking to maintain the intensity of the Parmesan. Pump from the siphon loaded with a double gas shot.
Finishing
On the plate with the demi-soufflé, arrange two spoons of the sauce, a cloud of the foam and a crispy galette and last of all the air.