L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS When Talent Meets Charity: Massimo Bottura and Robert de Niro to Launch Charity Project in NYC Following the successful experience in Milan and Bologna, Bottura decides to open a "Refettorio Francescano" in the Bronx, in collaboration with one of the US most successful artists. T hink of Milan during the m o n t h s o f t h e E x p o . Think of the incredible amount of food produced and c o n s u m e d o n i t s p r e m i s e s . Think also of the equally large amount of food wasted: if you made some extra cash working t h e l a s t s h i f t i n a c a f é o r a restaurant during your college years, you may have a relatively clear idea of what I am talking about. Massimo Bottura, whose M o d e n a r e s t a u r a n t O s t e r i a F r a n c e s c a n a h a s r e c e n t l y gained the first place in the San P e l l e g r i n o W o r l d ' s B e s t Restaurant list, refused to let fame and wealth get to his head a n d d e c i d e d t o t u r n E x p o ' s wasted – but still good! – food a n d i n g r e d i e n t s i n t o a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o h e l p t h e l e s s f o r t u n a t e . T o d a y , h i s M i l a n i n i t i a t i v e i s a b o u t t o t u r n international and travel, among other destinations, also to the US. T h e M i l a n E x p e r i e n c e : Refettorio Ambrosiano Bottura developed a program to gather and use all the left over ingredients and food bound t o b e t h r o w n a w a y b y t h e various kitchens of the Expo. Thanks to his connections in the f i e l d , h e m a n a g e d t o g e t o n board sixty top international chefs, who accepted to prepare meals for Milan 's homeless. Thanks to the help and support of the Caritas Ambrosiana, the city's section of the official C a t h o l i c c h a r i t y a s s o c i a t i o n C a r i t a s , m e a l s w e r e s e r v e d every night, for the duration of t h e E x p o , i n o n e o f M i l a n ' s m o s t d e p r i v e d a r e a , t h e q u a r t i e r e G r e c o . M o r e t h a n fifteen tons of food were saved and a brilliant example for more similar efforts was set. Bottura named the initiative R e f e t t o r i o A m b r o s i a n o : i n Italian, the word "refettorio" refers to the common feeding areas of schools and religious institutions, which many of us associate not only with the idea of food, but also with that of community and commensality. A n d a s h e l p i n g o t h e r s h a s a t r u l y i n v i g o r a t i n g e f f e c t Bottura, also galvanized by the success of his idea, decided to e x t e n d i t t o o t h e r c i t i e s a n d other events, creating Food for S o u l a n o n p r o f i t , c u l t u r a l association aiming at providing regular meals to the needy. The famous chef declared publicly that both Food for Soul a n d R e f e t t o r i o A m b r o s i a n o were inspired by the figure and w o r d s o f P o p e F r a n c i s , w h o officially blessed the initiative with his support. Support also g i v e n , t h r o u g h t h e i r participation, by some of the m o s t f a m o u s a n d r e n o w n e d n a m e s o f w o r l d c u i s i n e , including Alain Ducasse, Mauro C o l a g r e c o a n d M i t s u h a r o Tsumura. A s i m i l a r r e f e t t o r i o h a s recently opened in Bologna and another will be proposed soon in Rio de Janeiro in occasion of the Olympics: here a "RefettoRio" will operate in one of the city's poorer favelas. B o t t u r a a n d c h a r i t y : a match made in… Modena Refettorio Ambrosiano and its sister projects in Bologna and Rio are not the first example of Bottura's mingling with charity. When Modena, home to his m o s t f a m o u s r e s t a u r a n t , t h e a l r e a d y m e n t i o n e d O s t e r i a F r a n c e s c a n a , w a s h i t b y a d e a d l y e a r t h q u a k e i n 2 0 1 2 , m a n y p a r m i g i a n o r e g g i a n o producers lost a large amount of t h e i r f a m o u s l y r e c o g n i z a b l e w heels, thus facing possible f i n a n c i a l p r o b l e m s . T o h e l p them, Bottura created a special risotto, which he then proposed all over the world, made with pepper and a earthy quantity of p a r m i g i a n o : h i s i d e a , f a n t a s t i c a l l y c h r o n i c l e d i n N e t f l i x d o c u m e n t a r y C h e f ' s T a b l e , h e l p e d k e e p m a n y a producer out of troubles during those unfaithful months. New York, New York Bottura has no intention to stop: last month he officially announced the opening, in early 2017, of another Refettorio in the Bronx, also thanks to the supervision and collaboration of the Italian Consulate in New York. According to the Gazzetta di Modena, the announcement has been made by Bottura himself last June via Twitter, where he posted a micro message stating h e w a s " p l a n n i n g o u r n e w Refettorio in the Bronx. With Bob, 2017." Along with it, a photo of the chef and … Bob: acting extraordinaire and proud Newyorker Robert de Niro. De Niro's involvement may a p p e a r s t r a n g e t o t h o s e n o t aware of the fact he is a pro of the culinary world, as he owns a series of famous eateries in the B i g A p p l e , i n c l u d i n g N o b u , Tribeca and the Locanda Verde. De Niro, the Italian daily La Repubblica writes, is very tied to his hometown and his origins a n d r e p r e s e n t s t h e p e r f e c t partner for a project aiming at helping the local community, on the territory. T h e B o t t u r a – d e N i r o c o l l a b o r a t i o n i s o n l y a t t h e beginning and not many details about it have been released. Yet, the Bronx Refettorio has already found a place on the official F o o d f o r S o u l p a g e , w h i c h remains the best place to get all relevant updates about the exact location and date of its 2017 opening. FRANCESCA BEZZONE Massimo Bottura with Robert de Niro are planning a new Refettorio in the Bronx which will open in early 2017. Image by Massimo Bottura

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