What Massimo Bottura cooked at Momofuku Ko

The chef brought his Post-Modena cookery skills to one of NYC's best restaurants last week

As all you gastronomy fans will know, The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle took place last Thursday, with 37 of the world’s best chefs switching places, to cook at one another’s restaurants. René Redzepi was at Namh in Bangkok; Alex Atala cooked at Blanca in Brooklyn; and Daniel Patterson Willows Inn on Lummi Island in Washington State. 

Massimo at Momofuku Ko. Image courtesy of the The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle

We successfully predicted Massimo Bottura’s guest appearance at Momofuku Ko at 8 Extra Place, in Lower Manhattan. As the chef told New York magazine’s Grub Street, the placement suited Bottura well. Massimo met his wife while working in New York, and has visited both the city and the guest restaurant many times. “When I learned that it was the restaurant of one of my best friends, I was like, ‘Oh, fantastic’,” he said. “I arrived on Monday night. And I know Ko so well, so everything is going pretty smoothly.”

Salad in Bloom. Image courtesy of the The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle

Bottura brought over half a wheel of his prized Parmigiano Reggiano, as well as some of his own balsamic vinegar. He also served a Hot and Cold Pink Grapefruit Campari’, “like a granita at the bottom, with a hot foam on the top,” he explains.

Diners also ate Corn Off the Cob in Textures and Temperatures, a sweet-and-savoury maize dish Bottura last cooked for the James Beard Foundation’s Fourth of July party at the Milan Expo.

Corn Off the Cob in Textures and Temperatures. Image courtesy of the The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle

There was a Wylie Dufresne-style shrimp and grits dish, in tribute to the US chef who helped Bottura plan the menu. This was followed by a pasta dish dedicated to Momofuku’s owner and fellow chef, David Chang, called From Naples to New York Passing Through Hokkaido; a variation on Bottura's famous Damien Hirst spin-painting-style dish, this time called Beautiful Sonic Disco of Love and Hate at the Gate of Hell Painting With Wicked Pools of Glorious Color and Psychedelic Spin-Painted Lamb, Not Flame Grilled; diners were also served with a flowery salad, Salad in Bloom, and a pizza-risotto combination, called North wants to be South.

Massimo's iPhone souvenir from Carbone. Image courtesy of the The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle

Bottura told Grub St that he also found time to eat at Enrique Olvera’s Cosme restaurant, and at the modern Italian restaurant, Carbone; great choices, chef, as we have books by Olvera and Carbone co-founder Rich Torrisi coming soon.

Massimo with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten in Union Square prior to the Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle

For a better understanding of Bottura’s life, work and food get a copy of Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef; and for more first-class dining tips buy Where Chefs Eat.