Watching Massimo Bottura cook at home on Instagram has been a confidence-builder for amateur cooks during Italy's lockdown, but it also serves as a melancholy reminder of the restaurant meals we are missing. The Michelin-starred chef, known for his three-star Osteria Francescana in Modena, has been entertaining viewers with his family's nightly 'Kitchen Quarantine' series, which began almost by accident when his daughter Alexa filmed him making supper.
In one of the final episodes before Italy's lockdown eased, Bottura demonstrated a real leftovers meal: dry chocolate breakfast pancakes with banana slices and preserved cherries, followed by a pasta dish that 'thinks it is a risotto'. He crushed plum tomatoes into a pan, added tiny macaroni, and a broth made from cooking mussels and pork belly separately. The result included garlic cloves, a bouquet garni, mussels, pork, cold butter for creaminess, and a sprinkle of orange zest from a giant fruit sent by a friend in Sicily.
Kitchen Quarantine, filmed on Alexa's mobile phone, is not a precision-based venture. It is an improvisational approach that reminds viewers that keeping things simple often works out. Bottura's charisma and the family's warm, chaotic dynamic have made the series an internet sensation, with over half a million viewers for his béchamel sauce video. He recently won a special achievement prize at the Webby awards for this inspirational project.
While many chefs have migrated online during the pandemic, Bottura's series stands out for its authenticity. As restaurants begin to reopen, including Osteria Francescana, this may be one of the last times the Botturas entertain us from home. But the lesson remains: a bit of this, a bit of that, stir, taste, and repeat—good food doesn't have to be elaborate.
