Header images: the interior of Refettorio Felix in London (image: Simon Owen) and Massimo Bottura at #50BestTalks in Barcelona
In the third of the #50BestTalks: Food Forward series, Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana urges chefs to use their voices for positive change.
Most people know Massimo Bottura as the chef who has been cooking up a revolution in Italian cuisine, but for the last few years he’s also been working on another one – the fight against food waste. The chef-owner of Osteria Francescana, No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016 and currently ranked No.2, has been summoning top chefs to his ‘refettorios,’ or soup kitchens, to help him turn surplus ingredients into delicious dishes. He hopes that, together, chefs around the world can use their growing influence ultimately to end food waste.
Speaking at the #50BestTalks: Food Forward event in Barcelona, part of the celebrations for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 15th anniversary, presented by Miele, Bottura cited a forecast for 400 million undernourished people by 2050. In an impassioned speech, he called on the world for help: “We are the revolution! We are part of the solution!” he said. “We all have a voice. We can all speak up. Most importantly, we can all act.”
Watch Bottura’s full speech on the importance of utilising previously discarded ingredients, the chef as a voice for change and the restaurant as a laboratory of ideas:
Subscribe to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants on YouTube for full speeches from René Redzepi of Noma, Joan Roca of El Celler de Can Roca, Daniel Humm and Will Guidara of Eleven Madison Park, Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana and Ferran Adrià of El Bulli, coming soon.
With special thanks to our presenting partner, Miele, and our event partners Estrella Damm, S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, Lavazza, Bodega Garzón, Ron Zacapa, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Seedlip, Sosa, Cinco Jotas and W Barcelona.
