New York goes crazy for Bottura

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».

«I accepted Shake Shack’s offer», he explained, «because no one knows how to boost the dignity of street food as they do. The quality is extremely high». A question of terroir: «I wanted to re-interpret Emilia with all of the best ingredients in our food valley. Framing burgers from a critical and not nostalgic point of view. Were I only to look at the past, I would have made a classic one and said “perfect the way it is”. No: here there are parmigiano reggiano, cotechino and balsamic vinegar, which contribute to the perfect balance of acidity, sweetness and bitterness. A few mouthfuls of great joy». A contagious one since the traffic wardens had to rush to keep the queue in order as it was overflowing the park’s fences.

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».

He was then “kidnapped” by journalist Melissa Clark of the New York Times, with whom the chef had had a great discussion with regards to the genesis and the concepts of creativity. We will find out the result on the Wednesday section of the newspaper, next October 22nd. While the chef from Modena explained to Oscar Farinetti how he had managed to have all the ingredients from his homeland delivered in New York, even New York’s restaurateur Denny Meyer arrived and legitimised him: «Tell me if an Italian can come to the centre of Manhattan and make a better burger than the Americans». Had we placed four or five Botturas in some key places, Italy would have solved its problems a long time ago.