Life as a chef
The same year, he took over Trattoria del Campazzo [7] , near Nonantola, where he studied Emilian cuisine with the support of rezdora ("grandmother") Lidia Cristoni [8] . He later studied French cuisine by taking lessons from Georges Coigny, which provided him with a culinary foundation that combined regional Italian cuisine with classical French training. [9] [10]
In 1993 he moved to New York and worked in an Italian café. There he met Lara Gilmore, his future wife [11] . After nine months, he returned to Modena and in 1994 began an internship of several months with Alain Ducasse at his restaurant "Le Louis XV" in Monte Carlo [12] . In 1995 he returned to Modena and took over a traditional trattoria in the heart of the city, Osteria Francescana, which officially opened on 19 March of the same year. [13]
In 2000, Catalan chef Ferran Adrià invited Bottura to the kitchen of his restaurant "El Bulli" in Spain, where the Modenese chef learned the basics of molecular cuisine. [14]
In 2002 Bottura received his first Michelin star, followed by the second in 2006 and the third in 2012. [2]
Beyond Michelin Stars
In 2011, again in Modena, he took over the restaurant "Franceschetta58" [15] . While Osteria Francescana offers an iconoclastic reinterpretation of Italian cuisine, Bottura's second restaurant, Franceschetta58, provides a more casual dining experience, serving local ingredients in a convivial atmosphere [16] .
In 2013, he participated in the Year of Italian Culture in the United States [17] and was featured in an episode of the fifth season of the program Il Testimone , hosted by Pif [18] .
He is one of the ten directors of the training center Basque Culinary Center [19] .
In 2015, he was the featured chef in the first episode of the Netflix documentary Chef's Table [20] .
In October 2016, he was named one of The Greats by The New York Times [21] .
In 2018, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura opened in Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, with the aim of honoring the union between local traditions and multicultural encounters. The restaurant was awarded its first Michelin Star in 2019. At the beginning of 2020, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura also opened its doors to the public in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and more recently also in Tokyo (August 2021) and Seoul (February 2022) [22] .
In February 2019, Bottura worked in collaboration with W Hotels to open Torno Subito at W Dubai - The Palm on Palm Jumeirah. In 2024 he opened Torno Subito in Singapore [23] , in collaboration with COMO Group [24] , and a few months later also Torno Subito Miami [25] .
In 2019 he was named among the Time 100 Most Influential People [26] . In May of the same year he opened a new concept of hospitality together with his wife, Casa Maria Luigia, a guest house in an 18th-century property in the Emilian countryside [27] . In 2024, the guest house obtained three Michelin keys [28] .
In June 2020, together with other chefs, architects, Nobel Prize winners in economics and leaders of international organizations, he signed the appeal for a purple economy («For a cultural renaissance of the economy») published in Corriere della Sera [29] , El País [30] and Le Monde [31] .
In September of the same year, Massimo Bottura was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the inauguration of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste [32] .
In June 2021 Massimo Bottura reopens the restaurant Cavallino in collaboration with Ferrari and the architect and designer India Mahdavi, with the desire to give new light to this iconic place that represents the history of Ferrari and the culinary traditions of Emilia [33] .
Beyond his work in the restaurant industry, Massimo Bottura has been producing IGP balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil since 1995 with his line of condiments, Villa Manodori, which was the result of his search for the highest-quality ingredients [34] .
In 2022 he received the America Award from the Italy-USA Foundation at the Chamber of Deputies [35] .
Since 21 September 2024, he has been an ambassador for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [36]
