The Power of Food – Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana) and Jessica Rosval (Casa Maria Luigia) – FMS22

Massimo Bottura and Jessica Rosval began their speech with this sentence. Massimo gave a speech on what the future means for him. “The future is not some specific place, but a state of mind” – he said. He mentioned that dreams and creating the future are important. In his opening speech, he also referred to the importance of cultural heritage in his cuisine. According to our speaker, it’s not only about the quality of the ingredients; the quality of the ideas used is important. In Massimo’s opinion, great ideas bring about revolutions. After the philosophical opening of the presentation, he gave the floor to Jessica.

Jessica, on the other hand, moved her thoughts to the times at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. She told us about the great fear felt by chefs at the time. However, it wasn’t a sad story. Jessica referred to her fellow chefs as her family. In Modena, the chefs integrated and, despite their isolation, remained in constant virtual contact. This lets them concentrate on the future without becoming depressed. It wasn’t an easy task. The chefs had a group chat where they supported each other.

Only culture can save you

One day, Massimo sent a message there with the cover of The Beatles album. The hidden message was: only culture can save you. Everyone understood. One of the best albums the band had released came out after a 6-month break and turned out to be brilliant. It suited the situation we were in perfectly and meant only one thing – the sun would rise again and it would be an even better sunrise than before. It gave hope and helped to create despite fear. Everyone got motivated and even created a new menu. As a result of this cooperation, the team returned from lockdown stronger. Bravo Massimo! This is what it means to be a leader.

The current flagship of the Osteria Francescana restaurant in Modena was presented during its presentation. It is a seasonal dish created precisely thanks to the pandemic. Let’s not be afraid to say this: everyone took what they wanted from the pandemic. Something good could also be taken from it.

Massimo believes that travel is possible in pandemic times – journeys through flavors and smells. Massimo restaurant created a menu allowing us to travel around the world. Is it magic? No, it’s Osteria Francescana restaurant in Modena. Thank you, Massimo and Jessica, for the speech that made us smile and gave us hope for the future. So, what about this future?