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Chef Massimo Bottura and the team at Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy have created a host of iconic dishes over the years, like the accidental dessert 'Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart' or 'Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano' that people will still be talking about and studying years from now. It’s the reason the restaurant was named World’s Best in 2016.
So we’re always excited to hear about new dishes at the three-Michelin-star spot and even more excited to share news of them with you when we do.
With that in mind, here are five brand new dishes from the Osteria Francescana team, which can be enjoyed as part of a 10 or 12-course tasting menu.
As ever, Bottura looks to his wider cultural interests for inspiration, with one dish of sole prepared three ways, taking its lead, aesthetically from the work, of Modernist Italian painter Alberto Burri. The land that bore him is also never far from his mind, for example with an edible Modenese landscape of cherries, chocolate and coffee crumble, and almond-infused ricotta.
“The plates are developed as a team, but I am the last one who chooses what to serve and the idea behind it,” says Bottura. “To create good food is too easy. You get great ingredients … but to create culture through food is very, very difficult. You have to have decades of experience, you have to travel all over the world, to absorb many different cultures and to know everything, and to forget about everything. Because once you know everything, you can create something new.”
Those travels of late have included the expansion of his Food for Soul soup kitchen project into more cities, most recently Paris, and the opening of a new restaurant in Florence with the help of Gucci.
Take a look at the new dishes, with descriptions, below.
All images: Paolo Terzi
Adriatic Chowder
"A pirate ship berthed on the Adriatic coast is prepared with sea snails, razor clams, blue lobster and truffle clam chowder inside a pie crust as a representation of travel and seasonality."
Mediterranean Sole
"Three classic Mediterranean fish preparations: al cartoccio, sotto sale and alla mugnaia, combine into one singular recipe, summoning the canvases of Italian modernist Alberto Burri."
In the Countryside: Snails, Hare and Aromatic Herbs
"A snapshot of the Emilian landscape enclosed in ravioli pasta."
Tarte Tatin of Mallard, Pigeon and Partridge
"Mallard and partridge break the border between sweet and savoury, matching flavours from a classic cuisine."
Cherries Come in All Shapes and Sizes
"An edible landscape celebrates ingredients from the Modenese countryside. Three PDO cherries: ciliegia, duroni and amarene, are blended into a deep red cherry sorbet. Crumble from a local chocolate and coffee delicacy called Torta Barozzi represents the rich agricultural soil while an almond infused ricotta from the foothills of the Appennines covers the dish like the thick Emilian fog."
