Massimo Bottura: “People wanted to crucify me in the middle of the square, and now they call me 'maestro' in the street.”

MilanMassimo Bottura, Juan Roca, Debora Fadul, Zizi Hattab or Santiago Lastra. The most prestigious chefs have gathered to receive the Best Chef Awards. In fact, once again this year, Catalan chefs have demonstrated their global recognition within the industry: a total of 19 have been recognized. It's worth noting the inclusion of Pep Moreno from Deliranto and Rafa Peña from Gresca, and Jordi Vilà's move from one to two knives (the awards' yardstick). But it's not all roses and violets. Haute cuisine is experiencing a period of certain exhaustion. There are several questions looming in the sector. Have people grown tired of tasting menus? Are they too long? Too heavy? Are there enough diners for so many high-end restaurants? What will come next? the revolution that took place in CataloniaFor that, Modena chef Massimo Bottura has the answer.

Bottura offers two solutions, one in the form of cheese and the other in the form of a Girona chef. The first example is Parmesan. When Bottura began his Osteria Francescana project, he received more than a few harsh words from his neighbors, who were guardians of tradition. But with time and effort, things turned around. The secret? "I don't listen to anyone; I listen to myself," he says. For him, the fundamental ingredient for the chef of the future is culture. "I sit on centuries of history. My cuisine is profoundly Italian but filtered through a contemporary mind," he explains, "but being contemporary is very difficult. Because to make the future possible, it takes courage. When you do extremely contemporary things, people don't understand what you're doing." He knows what he's talking about; three decades ago, he came up with the idea of creating a dish inspired by "the five ages of Parmesan." And he argued that Parmesan should be aged for 24 months, not 18, so that even those with lactose intolerance could eat it. The reception wasn't warm. "People wanted to crucify me in the main square because I was damaging the image of Parmigiano Reggiano. I was transforming the cheese into something different. I had an empty restaurant because people didn't understand what I was cooking. Now they're telling me teacher on the street. Teacher "What for? I just cook," explains Bottura.

Joan Roca is the solution

The second recipe Bottura proposes revolves around solidarity: "In Modena, if you don't believe in God, you can always believe in tortelina. And the best of all are those prepared at Tortellante, where they are made by children with autism and their grandmothers." Bottura is part of this inclusion project, among many others.

"The role of a chef in 2025 must be much more than the sum of his restaurants," the chef asserts. "We have enough restaurants, but not enough social projects," he states categorically. And then he recounts an episode he experienced with Joan Roca, who is sitting next to him as Bottura speaks. He says he was in Rio de Janeiro participating in a charity meal. He called Roca for help, but it turned out he was in Los Angeles, on tour with El Celler de Can Roca. The Girona chef didn't say no. He took a plane to Brazil to cook with food waste, fed the needy, and then took a plane back to Los Angeles. "Now, when people tell me they're too busy, I think, 'Fuck off,'" says Bottura, with his ability to put himself in the pocket of anyone who listens.

Joan Roca, after the praise, has one more idea to add: "In a global world with as much uncertainty as the one we live in now, cooking is a fantastic tool to connect cultures and territories. I don't believe in borders, but I do believe in identities and people. I think that today's cuisine is more about cooks than about history, about territories. place in which it is officiating." And very close by he has two cases that certify this and that are present at the event.

One is that of Zineb Hattab, from Blanes, with Moroccan roots and who has a vegan restaurant in Zurich. She has set out to "challenge thestatus quo". Rethinking working conditions, the ingredients served and, ultimately, questioning everything we do simply because it's always been done that way.

The second example is that of Santiago Lastra. The Mexican chef at London restaurant KOL explains that he had a hard time marrying what they cooked with the preconceived idea. "We used stereotypical products, and then people would take limes in their bags because we didn't give them out," he says as an anecdote. The chef, by the way, confirms that the fine dining It's also on the decline in London.

This is confirmed by Ana Roš, the Slovenian chef at the Hiša Franko restaurant. Her rural restaurant has been a key attraction for visitors to the region. "I don't live in an idyllic world. There's frustration because if you have a restaurant in New York, Paris, or London, it would be easier to fill it. Every day I work to survive. When I was awarded the Michelin star, everyone thought it would be super easy and rock 'n' roll. But we still live every day that is too difficult, we have three months of rain. We have three months of rain. We have three months of rain. We have three months of rain. We have three months of rain. We have three months of rain. It's my life; whoever thinks it's wonderful should know that I'm in survival mode. And surviving gives you the energy to fight for a better future," the Slovenian woman confesses.

The Guatemalan woman emphasizes this. Debora Fadul, chef at the Diacá restaurantRemember that chefs aren't that important, and they shouldn't put themselves so centrally; they don't need so much personalism, but rather to be another link in the chain, a bridge to improve a very imperfect society. "Cooking can fix everything, but it can also ruin everything. Let's be aware of that," Fadul assures.