There is a photo who sees it together with the Pope and the prime minister Melonsin another he is shaking hands with American President Biden. And he, Massimo Bottura from Modena, who after being elected best chef in the worldperhaps as a logical consequence it delighted the heads of state at G7which took place in recent days in Puglia.
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Pope Bergoglio with chef Massimo Bottura, with them also Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Bottura, let’s start from the photo that portrays you together with the Pope…
“It was unexpected. It was all over, I was loading my things into the car, when behind me I heard a long applause. I turn around, I see an open car with Pope Bergoglio and Giorgia Meloni. I look in their direction and see Meloni beckoning me to come closer. In front of me, however, there was an army of bodyguards…”.
What happened?
“When they realized I had been called, the small army opened up and let me pass. Meloni introduced me to the Pope, talking above all about the refectory project, the restaurants where we feed needy people while avoiding food waste. Pope Francis listened and told me something that I will never forget.”
Meaning what?
“There needs to be more people like me in the world…”.
All this after speaking with President Biden
“Yes, it had happened half an hour earlier. I was in the shower in my room and I heard the phone ring. It was the White House chef: ‘get ready, we’re coming to get you’.”
Where did they take her?
“From President Biden, who honored me with the medal of his mandate, a very important honor. And he asked his collaborator to take my contact details, they want me as a guest at the White House”.
Bottura with Joe Biden: the US president wants him as a guest in the White House
Let’s rewind the tape and start again from the beginning of his adventure at the G7.
“Yes, I still remember the emotion of the first day. Giorgia Meloni introduced me to all the heads of state, also talking about my social projects of the refectory and the Tortellante. Macron remembered the refectory in Paris. And then the work began.”
How was your day?
“Due to the adrenaline, I was already awake around 4 in the morning. At 6 o’clock I was in the kitchen with my five collaborators. First problem: reduce waiting times to a minimum.”
How to get solved?
“Rehearsing for nine hours straight the day before. My assignment was limited to the lunch of the heads of state, but I wanted everything to be perfect.”
The menu?
“On the first day we proposed specialties from Southern Italy and the coasts: they ranged from breadsticks with Apulian olive oil to Sardinian lobster risotto, from Sicilian cod to bread and tomatoes from Campania”.
A little space for Modena?
“Yes, the second day: tortellini in Parmesan aged for 36 months. But also the crunchy part of the Bolognese lasagna and the pasta with Ligurian pesto”.
Any improvisation?
“In the afternoon they told me that it was German Prime Minister Scholz’s birthday. Problem: He doesn’t like sweets. So I created a dish with mangoes, pineapple and red fruit in the shape of a tomato to recreate the German flag. We brought it to him and I sang ‘happy birthday to you’. He hugged me. And I go home happy.”
Bottura’s cake for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
