13-10-2014
Massimo Bottura in New York among the fans who today have devoured the thousand Emilia burgers, cooked inside the famous Shake Schack kiosk in Madison Park. There were people queuing since 8 o’clock in the morning
13th October 2014, Columbus Day in New York. This is the day that Massimo Bottura will remember with the greatest joy out of this already satisfying American trip. Hundreds of people were queuing for hours at the Shake Shack in Madison Park, the most famous burger kiosk in the world. They had been queuing since 8 o’clock this morning, much before noon, in order to taste Emilia, the limited edition pop-up burger, produced in only 1,000 pieces on Columbus Day. They were all finished in a few hours, just like the tickets for the final match of the World Cup. And tomorrow there will be no encore in Manhattan: the temporary burger is now gone.
At lunchtime, the crucial moment in the day, he could hardly stay seated at the table created by Phaidon so he could sign copies of his book “Never trust a skinny Italian chef”, just out. He would preach with a strong voice to the enthusiastic New Yorkers: «This is not a book on cooking, but on creativity. It only took me 28 years to write it». One second later he would jump to take selfies and photos with old people and teenagers who called him as if he were a Hollywood star: «I’m a chef, don’t call me a rock star» while he hugged and held everyone. And then again he launched himself to the green tables to explain: «See?! I managed to give the meat a more gelatinous texture. And the mayonnaise for the fries? It’s extremely natural!». He then got up again for a TV interview while the journalists lost their composure and all of a sudden became fans: «You’re great».
The tidy queue at Madison Park. The ingredients of the Emilia burger: beef, parmigiano reggiano, salsa verde, cotechino sausage and a balsamic mayonnaise made with balsamic vinegar
At the end of the day he illustrated a concept that inside our own border we should learn by heart: «In Italy we need enthusiasm and passion because the world has a much better picture of us than the depressed one we have and give to ourselves. With passion you can get out of the swamp, out of that scared feeling that you’re in the middle of nowhere». We need to stop imploding in ourselves: «We need to travel, understand what happens around the world. When I come to New York I recharge myself with so much enthusiasm that on my return it spreads to my guys in Modena and to our kitchen».
In the park, the chef signs copies of "Never trust a skinny Italian chef" (Phaidon), "my first book in 28 years"
Gabriele Zanatta’s opinion: on establishments, chefs and trends in Italy and the world
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born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt