Osteria Francescana in Modena

 

A three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena, Italy. Italian culinary traditions seen from ten kilometers away. Small, high-end venue serving artfully plated meat & fish dishes, with à la carte & tasting options.

Location: Via Stella, 22 · 41121 Modena MO · Italy

So what's the hype about Osteria Francescana

Massimo Bottura, not burrata it's (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmassimo botˈtuːra]; born 30 September 1962) is an Italian restaurateur and the chef patron of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena, Italy which has been listed in the top 5 at The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

 

Massimo Bottura was born and raised in Modena in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. He developed an interest in cooking from a young age after watching his mother, grandmother and aunt in the kitchen preparing family meals. Bottura was an apprentice to chef Georges Coigny. Bottura also worked with Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo in 1994. Ducasse invited him to stage in his kitchen following a surprise visit to Trattoria del Campazzo.  Massimo Bottura won a 2020 Webby Special Achievement Award. 

 

On 19 March 1995 Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in the medieval city centre of Modena. His concept was to juxtapose culinary tradition and innovation with contemporary art and design.

 

Bottura then spent a summer at elBulli with Ferran Adrià, which encouraged him to continue pushing boundaries and re-writing rules with his cuisine. In 2012, shortly after Osteria Francescana was awarded its third Michelin star, the restaurant closed for the summer for a period of refurbishment and opened with an updated insight into Bottura's two biggest passions - contemporary art and avant garde cuisine. Bottura and Osteria Francescana were featured in episode one of the first season of Netflix's Chef's Table series in 2015, and the second episode of the second season of Master of None. Bottura had heard that the series had shot at nearby Hosteria Giusti, and directly confronted Eric Wareheim and Aziz Ansari one evening, asking why they had not approached him. He offered them a full meal, which was subsequently shot for the episode and featured the actors' real reactions to his food.

 

Did you know?

Bottura has written five books:

• Aceto Balsamico (2005) Autoritratti in Cucina 
• Parmigiano Reggiano (2006), PRO
• Attraverso tradizione e innovazione (2006)
• Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef (2014) Phaidon 
• Bread is Gold (2017) Phaidon