Bottura: «We’ll open in Cuba»

«After Obama we could also open in Cuba», Massimo Bottura rejoices with us on the phone. An extraordinary news: «We’re thinking about doing it together with my friends and colleagues Enrique Olvera and Andoni Luis Aduriz». Let’s illustrate the backstory: last November, the Mexican chef tweeted: «With a coup of luck, Pujol [Olvera’s restaurant] and Mugaritz [Andoni’s] are signing an agreement to open a restaurant in Havana». Retweets exploded and comments multiplied (see the one made by Eater). Then in the following weeks, nothing more: was it a boutade?

It rather was a fascinating idea but still far from coming true. This, until the irruption of Bottura, who cultivated and analysed the idea’s feasibility with the two colleagues during these months at Refettorio: «We will go on an expedition to Cuba in the first week of December. The Italian ambassador has already called us. We’ll go together, the three of us, with no anxiety or expectations, to see what happens and visit some possible locations». Raw materials are the great culinary issue in Cuba: «There’s little fresh food», Bottura confirms, «the little available is imported by Canadians, historic friends of the Cubans. You can find mostly chicken and beans».

«We’ll see what happens, the Pasta, pinchos y tacos format has all three of us agree. It would be a dream come true».