Made in Modena

CHEF MASSIMO BOTTURA, THE 'BEST CHEF IN THE WORLD', WHO GAVE A TASTE OF HIS SIGNATURE DISHES TO BENGALUREANS AT A PRICE OF ₹50,000 PER MEAL, SPEAKS TO CE ABOUT THE INSPIRATIONS BEHIND HIS FOOD, ENJOYING A YELE OOTA, AND MEETING LATE POPE FRANCIS

- MAHIMA NAGARAJU

These are all titles that I don't care about every day. These are not things that influence your life. What I really care about is the future," says chef Massimo Bottura, who is widely regarded as the 'best chef in the world', with his Michelin 3-star restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, having been declared 'The Best Restaurant in the World' by The World's 50 Best Restaurants, once in 2016, and again in 2018. Bottura, a visionary known for revolutionising Italian cuisine by pushing the boundaries of the 'nonna' style of cooking (a way of preparing food with simple, classic techniques, often using fresh, seasonal ingredients) explains that his preoccupation is with constant innovation. "Most of the time, people don't understand what you're doing and why. Last year's tasting menu was called Globale with flavours that are part of the Italian market right now. People said 'this is crazy' and that I'm 'contaminating Italian cuisine' but no, I'm just shaping the future. In 10 years, everyone is going to cook like this," he asserts.