Save & Follow
Check out these behind-the-scenes shots from Fine Dining Lovers’ forthcoming series Why Waste? with chef Massimo Bottura.
Filmed at Bottura’s own luxury guesthouse, Casa Maria Luigia, in the Emilian countryside, the series is a lively and enjoyable investigation into what we can do with the so-called leftovers in our kitchen to minimise food waste.
Bottura is known worldwide for the work of his non-profit Food For Soul, which takes discarded or leftover food from suppliers and retailers, and transforms it into something delicious and nutritious for those in need. It is an important and highly successful demonstration of the power of social gastronomy and how cooking can minimise waste, feed the hungry and create social cohesion all at the same time.
As the climate crisis continues to pose a greater and greater threat, the need to do our part becomes all the more imperative. Food waste is a major contributor to emissions that affect climate change, with an incredible 1.3 billion tonnes of food, or roughly 30% of global production never reaching hungry mouths. The majority of that waste happens in our own homes, unfortunately, due to a culture of throwing away leftovers, because people simply just don’t know what to do with them.
In our series, Bottura, together with some brilliant members of his team at Casa Maria Luigi, Osteria Francescana and Franceschetta 58, shows us how to take those cuttings, leftovers and unwanted morsels and turn them into something useful, versatile and delicious. As usual, the inimitable Bottura was full of brio during shooting, displaying a great rapport with his team. Have a look below:
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
"Stay connected, because through knowledge, consciousness, a sense of responsibility and using a little bit of creativity, we can change the world because we are the revolution," says Massimo Bottura, underlining the message of Fine Dining Lovers' new Why Waste? series.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Massimo Bottura with his team on the set of Why Waste? Above, from left to right, Francesco Vincenzi, Massimo Bottura, Takahiko Kondo, Jessica Rosval and Karime Lopez, just before shooting.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Karime Lopez, chef at Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in Florence, together with Massimo Bottura. Lopez was awarded Best Female Chef by Identità Golose 2019. Born in 1982, in Mexico City, the chef joined the kitchen at Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in January 2018, after working for five years as a sous chef at Central in Lima, Peru, with Virgilio Martinez. Lopez trained at Can Fabes in Catalonia, then worked at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Noma in Denmark, and at Pujol in Mexico City, as well as RyuGin in Tokyo.
Karime Lopez, presented the Why Waste? episode dedicated to the use of vegetable waste.
.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Jessica Rosval presents her Why Waste? episode dedicated to meat and fish waste. Here in the foreground a piece of Fassona brisket. The chef explains how to use leftover beef fat to make a useful rendering and how to make leftover empanadas.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Francesco Vincenzi is a champion of the Emilian culinary tradition interpreted in a modern way through innovation, much like his mentor Bottura. Vincenzi presents the episode dedicated to breadcrumbs, pasta and rice.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Jessica Rosval, Female Chef of the Year 2021 according to l'Espresso, is 35 years old and was born in Canada. Her journey to the kitchen at Casa Maria Luigia began in a small Italian restaurant in Montreal. Her first mentor was Laurent Godbout who chose her as an apprentice at Chez L'Épicier for three years. Jessica then moved to work with Melissa Craig at Whistler in the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia. But everything changed when she ate at Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana in 2013.
Today she is the chef de cuisine of Casa Maria Luigia and kitchen manager for events at Osteria Francescana.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Massimo Bottura and Francesco Vincenzi as they consider the best way to use stale bread.
Chef Vincenzi arrived at the Osteria Francescana in 2010 after studying at the Serramazzoni Hotel School and in 2017 he became head chef of the Modenese bistro Franceschetta58.
Here the chef was able to deepen his knowledge of Emilian ingredients, following in the footsteps of Massimo Bottura, to forging important relationships with local artisans and producers. Vincenzi is among the 100 to keep an eye on according to Phaidon's Today's Special book.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers
Takahiko Kondo, sous chef at Osteria Francescana, was born in Tokyo, and started working in restaurants immediately after high school. He arrived in Italy at the age of 22 and immediately found a job in some restaurants in the north of the country, where he worked before landing a job in Massimo Bottura's kitchen in 2005. From an early age, the chef has always been very demanding, and has taken his passion to Osteria Francescana where he never stops playing in the kitchen, even without wanting to. Like the time when he brought two lemon tarts to the customers of Osteria, and made one fall to the ground. Bottura found the resulting arrangement beautiful and asked Mondo to reconstruct it specially. This is how one of the most famous desserts of Osteria Francescana, 'Oops I Dropped the Lemon Tart', was created. Takahiko Kondo presents the episode dedicated, among other things, to Parmigiano Reggiano, one of the ingredients closest to Bottura's heart.
Why Waste?, Behind the scenes ®finedininglovers