From Trattoria del Campazzo to the three Michelin stars and the two-time first place in the 50 Best list: 30 years of passion, dedication and achievements summed up in the Modena restaurant's moments, places, people, ingredients and most iconic dishes.
1. Massimo Bottura
We can't help but start with the leading actor, Massimo Bottura: class of '62, a Modenese doc with his mind, eyes, ears and taste always wide open to the world. He initiated the Osteria Francescana project on March 19, 1995, in Via Stella 22, a street in the heart of the Emilian town. It all started there: a small restaurant with big dreams. Today, 30 years later, it is no longer just the Osteria Francescana, but the Francescana Family: 11 restaurants under direct management or in collaboration, a guesthouse, a vinegar and condiments line, and two cultural and social inclusion projects.
2. Lara Gilmore
Lara Gilmore is much more than Massimo Bottura's wife. In fact, from day one of the opening of Osteria Francescana, she has been synthesizing the chef's vision, a crucial step in helping the world understand and appreciate gastronomic creations. With a degree in history of art, she opened the door of the contemporary to her husband. The couple met in January 1993 in New York on their first day of work in a café/restaurant - Caffè di Nonna: Italy was already in their destiny. Today, it is not uncommon to see her busy welcoming guests at Casa Maria Luigia, taking care of its garden, but also coordinating communication activities and being personally involved in Food For Soul - of which she is president - a cultural project founded with her husband in 2015, and in Tortellante. (The two projects are explained in chapters 22 and 23)
3. Lidia Cristoni
A central figure in Bottura's evolution as a chef was Lidia Cristoni, who one day knocked at Massimo's (at Campazzo) and asked for a job at the restaurant. A cook with 30 years of experience despite her near-blindness, she was a tireless teacher for Bottura. She taught him the rituals that are still carried out in Francescana today, such as the staff meal - strictly seated - before service. She brought humility and cheerfulness by remaining part of the family for a long time and training many of the young cooks in the kitchen brigade, passing on to them numerous secrets, such as those for the perfect fresh pasta.
4. Trattoria del Campazzo
Massimo began his career by taking over Trattoria del Campazzo in Nonantola, in Modena's countryside. Here, he took his first steps in the kitchen and began to make a name for himself among his fellow citizens. Open from 1985 to 1993, here traditional Emilian dishes were served. During this time Bottura used the restaurant's closing days to work with Georges Cogny at Antica Osteria del Teatro in Piacenza, two Michelin stars. This allowed the Modenese chef to learn French cooking techniques and enrich his knowledge.
The most important thing, however, that Cogny passed on to Bottura was confidence and trust in himself and his tastebuds: “Your palate will take Modena to the world,”, he told him one morning sitting at the bar with his wife Lucia, drinking coffee before service. He was onto something. Another pivotal moment was his meeting with Alain Ducasse, then considered among the best chefs in the world. Bottura worked at Louis XV in Monte Carlo, leaving Campazzo. He learned the obsession for quality in every aspect. The final greeting in the lobby of the Hotel de Paris that housed the restaurant was crucial. Ducasse tore up all of Bottura's notes telling him that “it was time to stand on his own two feet”, another gesture that reinforced his confidence in himself.
5. Art
Joseph Beuys, Maurizio Cattelan, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Federico Fellini, Carlo Benvenuto, Damien Hirst, Thelonious Monk, Mario Schifano, Ai Wei Wei, Giuliano della Casa. This is a list - not exhaustive - of the artists who have influenced the Modenese chef's thinking over the years, and who have found space with their works inside Osteria Francescana, or have been transformed into “edible bites.”
“Alone I am Massimo Bottura, with my team I am Osteria Francescana."
6. Beppe Palmieri and the Garelli twins
They are the cornerstones of Osteria Francescana dining room. Beppe Palmieri has been welcoming guests for 25 years, trying to grasp everyone's desires and needs; his arrival marked a turning point for the restaurant's service. He has always believed in a horizontal team rather than a vertical structure. Joining him since 2008 and 2011, respectively, are Andrea and Luca Garelli, sommelier managers, and a team that is young and dynamic.
7. The sous chefs
A great contribution to the restaurant's history comes from the sous chefs who, over time, have run the brigade and contributed to the creative process. Akihiko, Yoji Tokuyoshi, Takahiko Kondo and Davide Di Fabio arrived in the span of a few years, between 2000 and 2005. Each with their own ideas helped enrich and actualize Bottura's thinking over a long period of time.
Tokuyoshi stayed for about 9 years before winning a Michelin star in 2015 with his restaurant in Milan. Today in the same space he has opened a different format, Bentoteca. Kondo, known to everyone as Taka, is still in the Family and leads along with his wife, Karime Lopez, the Gucci Osteria in Florence, one Michelin star (see chapter 28). After leaving Osteria Francescana, Di Fabio moved to Gabicce Monte, on the Romagna-Marche border, where he leads the restaurant Dalla Gioconda, awarded one red and one green star by Michelin. Today the sous chefs are Allen Huynh, who arrived as a young intern from Canada in 2016, and Matteo Zonarelli, originally from Bologna, who joined in 2018 after several experiences around the world. We spoke with them a couple of years ago; you can catch up with the interview here.
8. The chef de partie who became chefs
Over the years, several chefs de partie have succeeded one another in the kitchens of Via Stella, and some of them are still in the Family today and have become chefs of restaurants located in and around Modena.
Jessica Rosval, originally from Canada, was responsible for several segments of the kitchen for a number of years, and with the opening of Casa Maria Luigia in 2019, she became the chef of the establishment awarded three Michelin keys, and now is leading Al Gatto Verde, also inside the guest house nestled in the Modenese countryside, awarded one red and one green star (see point 25).
Riccardo Forapani has long been head of the preparation laboratory at Osteria Francescana, where he arrived in 2007, among other duties, delighting his colleagues with the daily staff meal. Since 2021 he has been the chef of the Cavallino kitchen in Maranello (see chapter 26).
Francesco Vincenzi started with an internship in the dining room, then moved on to work in the kitchen, taking on the role of chef de partie of the first courses. Since 2017, he has led Franceschetta58, the Family's casual restaurant in Modena (see chapter 23).
9. The office
It all started with an intuition of Bottura's, who in 2010 offered Enrico Vignoli, who had been in the kitchen for three years, to become his assistant in the management of the activities and to act as a liaison between the brigade and the rest of the world. Thus was born the Office, probably one of the first in Italy within the restaurant world. Soon after, Vignoli was joined by Alessandro Laganà, who has been managing the chef's schedule and events in Italy and around the world for about 12 years. Over the years, activities have increased and the office has been structured with different functions and tasks. Today the Francescana Family is staffed with an office consisting of 11 people between reservations, events, communication, human resources and administration.
“From 10 kilometers away.”
The episode that changed Massimo Bottura's interpretation of traditional cuisine, and transformed his vision, was told to him by a well-known gallerist from Modena, Emilio Mazzoli, one of the very few patrons who supported Osteria Francescana in its early days. A collector asked artist Gino De Dominicis to paint his portrait. After much insistence, De Dominicis agreed, but ignored the collector during the session, only to paint a single dot on the canvas saying: that his portrait was ready: “It is you, seen from ten kilometers away, a white canvas with a red dot in the center.” “From that moment on, tortellini, cotechino and sarde were never the same.” And so dishes destined to become iconic for Italian and world cuisine began to emerge from the kitchens of Via Stella.
10. Tortellini walking on broth
Bottura - and not incorrectly - says often that the people of Modena who do not believe in God, believe in tortellini. A sacred fresh pasta, a taboo. Subverted with irony: a thin layer of capon broth, dense and thicker on the sides, and 6 tortellini - one different from the other, to tell the story of the filling from the mountains to the Po River - arranged in a single row. A dish that caused a stir and was never understood, especially in Modena.
11. Bollito non bollito
Tradition in Emilia, but not only, dictates that after the first courses comes the boiled meat cart, with the different cuts of meat and accompanying sauces. Bottura questioned himself and his team - But does tradition respect the ingredients? And so after a long talk with historian Massimo Montanari, he decided to serve the boiled meat, but without boiling it.
After numerous attempts at vacuum cooking, amid variations in temperature and timing, he found the perfect balance in terms of color as well. He had preserved the organoleptic and nutritional properties of the meat and through technology had brought tradition into the present. He served it by drawing with the different cuts the New York skyline seen from Central Park, with the classic sauces that accompany the boiled meat cart.
12. Parmigiano Reggiano: 5 ages, but not only that
In the beginning (it was '93) there were three, then it became four, and finally five - and for a very short time even six. Just like the main ingredient, this dish has evolved over time and is a synthesis of what “The slow passage of time in Emilia” means to the Modenese chef. The interplay of textures and temperatures is a portrait of the Emilian countryside bathed in fog. Always from 10 kilometers away.
But Parmigiano Reggiano also marked another moment in the history of Osteria Francescana. It was 2012 and Emilia was being hit by a violent earthquake. For this reason Bottura thought of Riso Cacio e Pepe: a recipe as a social gesture. The preparation became an international appeal to save 360,000 wheels of earthquake-damaged Parmigiano Reggiano, which needed to be sold quickly. The global community responded promptly and, by the end of the year, all the cheese was sold, safeguarding the jobs of the cheesemakers and the activities of the dairies, large and small: a true “Miracle in Emilia.”
13. An eel swimming up the Po River
Another dish that tells the story of the territory, through the ideal journey made by the eel as it travels from the Comacchio Valleys on the Adriatic coast to Modena, up the Po River and through Romagna, Veneto, and Emilia. At each step, the dish's protagonist is enriched with flavors and ingredients that are part of Emilia's culinary DNA: saba, the campanina apple, polenta, lowland vegetable gardens, orchards... The dish also recounts Bottura's personal commitment to the protection of the Po Delta, summarized in the 2011 short film Il Ritorno (The Return):
14. Camouflage: a hare in the woods
Another iconic and significant dish in the evolution of Francescana's cuisine: tradition and avant-garde come together, starting with a symbolic ingredient (hare) and a classic preparation (civet, which then becomes royale) and arriving at the boundaries of contemporary art. The end result is a dish that “disguises” the material, making each bite an act of discovery. Below is a beautiful video made by Andrea Marini and produced by 360FX Table Top Studio.
If you want to find out all the ingredients, you can find them here.
15. The crunchy part of lasagna
With this dish, Bottura returns the little boy who hid under the table while his mother and grandmother pulled the pasta sheet and made tortellini and lasagna. When the latter arrived on the table, the part most contended for by him and his siblings was the one on the corners, the crunchiest.
Here, then, is turning that child's wish into a haute cuisine dish: a crunchy tricolor waffle made with pesto, cheese and tomato spaghetti. The pasta is whipped to create three different doughs, rolled out like an egg pasta, dried, dehydrated, fried, smoked and toasted. The dish is then finished with a cloud of béchamel sauce, and at the base a professionally executed ragu. To be eaten strictly with the hands. If you are not yet hungry, watch and especially listen (we recommend the use of headphones) here the video made by Yuri Ancarani for the New York Times.
16. Beautiful, Psychedelic, Spin-Painted Veal, Not Flame Grilled
The connection with art is immediate. In fact, the splashes of the sauces around the filet are inspired by Damien Hirst's spin art and transform the plating into an artistic performance with the plate acting as a canvas, certainly one of the highlights at Francescana at Maria Luigia today, with diners able to watch the execution thanks to the kitchen open to the room. Each bite, thanks to the ever-changing mix of sauces, generates novel flavor combinations and makes the dish even more interesting to the palate.
17. Oops! I dropped the lemon tart
If there is a dessert that has become iconic, this is definitely it. The story of Taka who was about to commit hara-kiri when the tart destined for a well-known critic's table broke on the workbench for the first time is well known. Bottura from that moment decided to serve it that way to celebrate the beauty of imperfection. We have told you the whole story here, and you can also find the recipe!
The awards
Over the course of these 30 years, there have been numerous awards and moments of international consecration achieved both by the restaurant and by Bottura himself.
18. Three Michelin stars (2011)
The ascent to the Michelin stars began with his first star in 2002, continued with his second in 2006, and culminated in his third in 2011. In the book Vieni in Italia con me (Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef), the chef's emotion at receiving the news by phone from the then editor of the Guide, Fausto Arrighi, is recounted. A green star for sustainability was also added in 2020.
19. 50 Best 2016 and 2018
More international prestige came from the 50 Best, first in 2011 with the Chef's Choice Award, the prize given by colleagues to Bottura. Then a series of placements among the top 5 restaurants in the world until the double first place in 2016 and 2018. To date, he is the first and only Italian restaurant to have topped the list at least once. As of 2019, it is part of the Best of the Best category and no longer “in the running” in the same way as all restaurants that have previously occupied 1st place.
20. International press and other awards
Numerous covers he has conquered, the cover of T Mag in 2016 certainly being one to remember. In addition, Bottura was chosen by Time among the 100 most influential personalities of 2019.
There are also many awards received outside the culinary world: examples include the Ambrogino d'Oro received in 2019, the Premiolino, and the Webby Awards in 2020 for Kitchen Quarantine, the social live format created by his daughter Alexa in the days of the lockdown, with which the Bottura family gave advice on no waste through simple recipes. The Compasso d'Oro in 2018 for Refettorio Felix in London; the French Embassy in Rome awarded him the Farnèse d'Or pour la Culture, a high recognition for cultural commitment; and the American Academy in Rome awarded him the McKim Medal 2023, the first and only chef honored with this high honor.
21. TV? Very little, yet good
Over the years, Bottura has dosed his television presence with dropper drops. However, the episode of Chef's Table distributed by Netflix has been a great success worldwide. The documentary chronicles his rise along with that of the restaurant.
Also on the streaming platform, the chef and Osteria Francescana star in an episode of Master of None by Aziz Ansari, an American comedian and actor. In fact, the first episode of the series is set entirely in Modena and the two protagonists are seen eating in Via Stella served by Bottura himself. Massimo is also alongside former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama in the Netflix series, Waffles + Mochi, aimed at young audiences with the goal of introducing them to different cultures and educating them about eating well.
He also appeared in an episode of Phil Rosenthal's Somebody Feed Phil, also on Netflix. While Pif has visited him twice with Il Testimone (MTV) and Caro Marziano (Rai). Most recently, Bottura appeared in a scene in the film about Ferrari, shot and set in Modena and directed by Michael Mann, as a hotel concierge.
“Cooking is an act of love.”
This phrase by Bottura has been concretized in two different cultural and social projects that are part of the Francescana Family:
22. Food for Soul and the Refettorios
Food for Soul is a nonprofit cultural association that promotes the health of the planet, the well-being of people, and social inclusion. How? By countering food waste and social isolation through beautiful places and healthy, nutritious meals. It was founded by Massimo and his wife Lara in 2015.
The most representative project is that of the Refettorios. The first, the Refettorio Ambrosiano, was born in 2015 on the occasion of the Milan Expo. On this occasion, a space was set up in the Greco district of the Milanese city, with the support of artists, designers and architects and 65 of the world's most influential chefs, and meals were prepared for those in need. The inevitable surplus of food from the World Expo was used to do this. This model was replicated at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, and today there are 13 refectories around the world. For more information and insights we refer you to the association's website.
23. Tortellante
Il Tortellante was born within Aut Aut Modena, an association that promotes and coordinates training, assistance and fundraising projects to support families with autistic people in the province of Modena. Charlie, one of Massimo and Lara's two children, was born with an autism spectrum disorder, and the two parents often participate in the activities themselves, promoting actions as well.
Tortellante's main activity is to bring together people who are normally excluded from society, girls and boys with autism, and people of the elderly. Together they produce tortellini sold in the Modena workshop and also served in many of the group's restaurants. If you would like to learn more about this reality, we invite you to visit their website.
The Family
Let us close by talking briefly about the various places and realities that over time have gone on to enrich with new stories and experiences what at first was just a small restaurant at 22 Via Stella in Modena.
24. Franceschetta58
This is the first restaurant in chronological order. A mini-satellite of Osteria Francescana, over the years it has been able to conquer its space and propose its philosophy. It is located just outside the center of Modena and offers contemporary dishes filtered through the team's travel experiences. Chef Vincenzi's menu regularly follows seasonal trends and uses ingredients from local producers.
The inclusion project carried out with the Modena Correctional Facility is worth noting. The vegetable garden, designed by the chef together with the project coordinator Nicoletta Saporito and a specialized agronomist, along with some inmates, supplies the restaurant twice a week.
25. Casa Maria Luigia and Al Gatto Verde
Casa Maria Luigia is the hospitality project of the Bottura-Gilmore couple. Nestled in the Modenese countryside, it welcomes guests away from the chaos with rooms equipped with every comfort (and even artwork!).
Breakfast is one of the hits of the “home away from home”: described by Massimo as the “Christmas Day breakfast” that his grandmother prepared. Studied by the property's chef, Jessica Rosval, it gathers from sweet to savory Emilian specialties-all prepared in a wood-fired oven-to make a lavish banquet envious.
There are many common areas: a music room, where you can listen to one of 8,000 vinyls from classical to jazz; a cocktail room, where you can relax; a self-service kitchen, where you can have a coffee or eat a snack prepared by the kitchen brigade; a swimming pool; a vegetable garden; a tennis-football court; and a large park. Completing the property is the Playground for adults, gym, sauna, as well as numerous works of art, and cars and motorcycles strictly made in Emilia.
In the evening Francescana at Maria Luigia goes live: part of the Via Stella team, led by chef Luca Martinelli, as if on a theater stage, shares with guests through an open kitchen, a tasting menu that brings together all the greatest classics from the history of Osteria Francescana.
As mentioned, the establishment was awarded the three Michelin keys in 2024. The Guide also honored the other culinary offering, Al Gatto Verde, led by Jessica Rosval. The restaurant, awarded one red and one green star, grew out of the Sunday brunch-barbecue experience Tòla Dòlza started in June 2020 to open the Casa to the territory after the long pandemic lockdown. After three years it has found its permanent space and Rosval along with his brigade offer haute cuisine in a menu “made of fire and magic, which welcomes the challenge of the unexpected.”
26. Balsamic Vinegar: Villa Manodori and Acetaia Maria Luigia
In the same area as Casa Maria Luigia for the past few years the Acetaia Maria Luigia has found space. Balsamic vinegar is one of the symbolic products of the area enhanced by chef Bottura, who already in conjunction with the opening of Osteria Francescana in '95 had created Villa Manodori, a line of balsamic vinegar and condiments.
Today there are many products in the line, to which the Acetaia's products such as ready-to-drink cocktails and special vinegar 'crus': Juniper and Cherry. The Acetaia can be visited and is unique in its collection of 1,400 barrels of various sizes of traditional balsamic vinegar from 1910 to the 1980s. and has been set up with various artworks and modernized in lighting as well.
27. Motor Valley: Cavallino in Maranello
Closing the circle of the area are fast cars and motors, Bottura's other great passion. In 2021 the Cavallino opened in Maranello along with Ferrari. Here, right in front of the Prancing Horse factory, stood the restaurant where Enzo Ferrari used to eat and watch grand prix races. The restaurant was reimagined with the collaboration of architect India Mahdavi and now welcomes guests and fans of the Rossa from all over the world.
In the kitchen, Riccardo Forapani and Virginia Cattaneo offer traditional and local cuisine interpreted in a contemporary and fun way.
28. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura
Four restaurants born from the collaboration between Bottura and the fashion house Gucci. The project unites two excellences creating dining environments that combine design, art and gastronomy in an experience that is different from the usual. Karime Lopez and Takahiko Kondo in Florence, Mattia Agazzi in Beverly Hills, Hyungkyu Jun in Seoul, and Raffaella De Vita in Tokyo offer contemporary Italian cuisine using local ingredients and traditions.
Restaurants in Florence, Beverly Hills, and Tokyo have received and to date retain a Michelin star.
29. Torno Subito: Singapore and Miami
The concept's name is borrowed from an episode-performance by Maurizio Cattelan, who caught up in anxiety or out of provocation at his first solo exhibition in Bologna, did not let the public in but left the sign “Torno Subito” on the door. The two restaurants in the layout take inspiration from the Romagna Riviera of the 1960s and the Fellini world. Leading the restaurants are Alessio Pirozzi (Singapore) and Bernardo Paladini (Miami), the latter of whom has a long history alongside Bottura and for a time was chef at Franceschetta58. Their proposal is that of classic contemporary Italian cuisine, with a touch of irony and where they “leave the door open to the unexpected.”
30. The pupils
Among all those who have had an experience in Osteria Francescana, we mention those who over the years have received recognition and recommendations from Michelin: Stefano Secchi with Rezdôra and Massara in New York, Juan Camilo Quintero with Il Poggio Rosso inside Borgo San Felice in Chianti, Richard Abou Zaki with Retroscena and other projects in Porto San Giorgio in Marche, Michele Castelli with Dimora Ulmo in Matera, Alberto Gipponi with Dina in Gussago in Franciacorta, Riccardo Gaspari with SanBrite and El Brite de Larieto in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
30(+1). Oro Restaurant
We dedicate the extra space to the latest entry in the Family: Oro inside Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel in Venice. The restaurant-one Michelin star and open seasonally-is led by Ferrara cheffe Vania Ghedini. She offers dishes that tell the story of the lagoon and the mix of cultures and influences due to her experiences, such as the one in Morocco.
And the future? Something new is always boiling in Bottura's pot, or as his mantra goes, “In my future there is always future.” After coming up with Kitchen Quarantine (as recounted in Step 20), Massimo and Lara's daughter Alexa Bottura recently joined the Francescana team after leaving the Gucci offices. Instead, following Massimo Bottura's Instagram account in recent months, we have seen him documenting work on a new extension of Casa Maria Luigia: CasaLù.
