Vanessa Markey
Leek and bacon croissantsby Andrea Menichetti
In cantina Vigne Cappato: lunga vita al Vermentino
Bread is gold. This was also the lesson during Identità Milano 2015, when Massimo Bottura recovered old bread in a gold bin to give importance to food waste
A book published in English by Phaidon and in Italian by L’ippocampo perfectly sums up the three-year-long journey. Bread is gold celebrates six months at Refettorio Ambrosiano – still open – in Milan, during Expo 2015, from May to October, when Massimo Bottura asked over 60 colleagues to cook in what was once the church theatre in Greco, in the northern outskirts of Milan.
Abandoned and forgotten, it turned out to be the perfect solution for the chef from Modena and for creative and resourceful gastronomist Davide Rampello who were looking for a space where they could serve meals made with food waste from the World Fair. The latter had the initial idea from which everything began. From the introduction signed by the patron at Osteria Francescana: «Davide pointed out that what he was imagining was not a pavilion, but a refectory, the place where for centuries monks and nuns have shared their meals. He told me the word “refettorio” comes from the Latin reficere, which means rebuilding, as well as refreshing»
The theatre suddenly appeared in front of his eyes: «Don Giuliano opened the doors and exclaimed: “What’s best than a theatre for a refectory? What goes on stage is the drama in life, after all. Everything is in this drama: life and death, joy as well as desperate moments”».
Bottura sees reality beyond dreams and now that epic lives again in a book with 150 recipes that left an unimaginable mark: they are all simple everyday dishes, but not in the meaning these super-chefs usually intend. They cook all sorts of things, debone a quail with the ease we use in opening a bottle of barbera. Moments of everyday life that are poured into a recipe.
The book has a good subtitle: Extraordinary meals with ordinary ingredients. It’s signed by Massimo Bottura & Friends. «Here’s the new Artusi». A final note: all the proceedings will go to Food for Soul, the foundation created by Massino and Lara to promote and support refectories all over the world: «These dishes can change the way in which we feed the planet. Because anyone can cook them, wherever and regardless of their budget». Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
born in Milan in March 1955, at Il Giornale for 31 years dividing himself between sports and food, since 2004 he's the creator and curator of Identità Golose. twitter @oloapmarchi
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