Massimo’s plan for 1,000 Reffetorios
If you’re down and out almost anywhere in the world your diet is about to get a lot better, thanks to this chef's book
During the 2015 Milan Expo, the Italian chef and philanthropist Massimo Bottura set up a haute cuisine soup kitchen, taking bin-bound ingredients and food portions from the Expo’s fairground, to create nutritious, delicious dishes for the city’s poor. Famous chefs such as René Redzepi, Ferran Adrià and Daniel Humm dropped by to lend a hand, and soon the kitchen was producing upscale food from lowly ingredients such as stale bread, cheese rinds, and overripe fruit.
Many assumed the project, Refettorio Ambrosiano, would close with the fair, but Massimo not only kept it going, but also set up further Refettorios, in Rio, Brazil as well as elsewhere in Italy.
He also brought together many of the dishes created at the Refettorio by Redzepi, Adrià and Daniel Humm and others, into a book, Bread is Gold.
Earlier today, on this new book’s publication date, Bottura has suggested that this is just the beginning.
“If you really care about feeding the planet, buy the book help me and my friends, the chefs from all over the world to build over 1,000 Refettori,” said the chef in an Instagram post earlier today.
Bottura already has plans to open a Refettorio in the Bronx soon, so he’s already working his way towards those four figures. Want to help, or find out more? Then order a copy of Bread is Gold here.