Founded on the concepts of shun (seasonality) and omotenashi (hospitality), Japanese cuisine is one of the world’s most prominent culinary traditions.
But for Massimo Bottura — chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, and indisputably the world's most famous Italian chef — there is something else in the Japanese approach toward cuisine that moves him.
“The Japanese feel (for) the quality of the ingredients and give them the opportunity to express,” Bottura says. “That is why Japanese cuisine is so interesting. “Both the Japanese and Italians are obsessed about the quality of the ingredients. The Japanese use techniques lightly to touch the ingredients and let the flavors express themselves. That is very important to me.”
In October 2021, Bottura’s collaboration with Italian luxury fashion house Gucci took root in Tokyo. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, located at the Gucci Namiki flagship store in the upscale Ginza area, is the Italian restaurant’s second outpost outside of Italy after Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California. A third opened in Seoul in March 2022.
In Tokyo, Bottura entrusted the kitchen to Antonio Iacoviello, who worked alongside him in Osteria Francescana from 2019 to 2021.
“I always say to Antonio, dive into Japanese culture, understand the farmers, the fishermen, the cheese makers, all the artisans in Japan and buy local,” Bottura says. “But never forget who you are and where you come from.”
The inventive Iacoviello, who also honed his skills under Alain Ducasse, Rene Redzepi, Ernesto Iaccarino and Karime Lopez, took this advice to heart. His ingredient-driven cuisine honors the Mediterranean but also pays homage to Japanese terroir. What is even more admirable, Bottura says, is how Iacoviello has “turned his experiences and memories into edible bites.”
Take for example Gucci Osteria’s “Pacchero ai 7 Pomodori.” The dish incorporates the Japanese custom of shime, or “the last action of the day” with an Italian twist. In Italian dining culture, shime is often spaghetti aglio e olio ( spaghetti with garlic and olive oil), which is made when one arrives home late, whereas Iacoviello’s dish features a rich, flavorful sauce made with seven varieties of Japanese tomatoes intertwined with paccheri pasta and finished with basil oil.
“The Parmigiana That Wants to Become a Ramen” is another Gucci Osteria signature inspired by Bottura's masterpiece: “The Potato That Wants to Become a Truffle.” Iacoviello demonstrates how Italy’s love for spaghetti and Japan’s adoration of ramen finds harmony on a plate. This creation impressed Michelin inspectors so much they mentioned it in their 2023 guide, in which Gucci Osteria received one star.
“My father loved eggplant parmigiana and spaghetti aglio e olio,” Iacoviello says. “So I have the eggplant marinated, topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano and charred. Underneath the eggplant lies a tomato paste layer, and the pasta is an actual ramen noodle. I draw a broth from the charred eggplant to give this dish a ramen-like finish.”
It was Bottura who taught Iacoviello to think, cook and — perhaps — play with Italian cuisine in a critical way.
“Respecting it, celebrating it, but also being able to see it from a different perspective — not focusing only on recipes or products but on the idea of Italian cuisine and the gastronomic culture I grew up in,” Iacoviello explains.
Just how far can the master Italian chef push those boundaries? Bottura opens up in this exclusive with The Japan Times.
What is one important ingredient in making food good?
Culture. If you have culture you can imagine and shape your future. You can ask questions and give yourself answers.
I bring culture everywhere with me. I travel with culture in my pocket. I cook and express myself with it. I believe that if you knew where you came from, you would be able to create. And I always looked at the past creatively, not with nostalgia.
Thirteen years ago, you told me about a couple who ate at your restaurant and cried.
Three months ago, there was a prima ballerina from the Chicago Opera House, and we served her “The Potato That Wants to Become a Truffle.” It looks like a potato, but it's bread made with potato truffle and hazelnut flour.
When she started eating that bread, she went crazy. She had grown up with her grandmother in the countryside of Poland, and she was eating potatoes all the time. That day she was touched by emotion so deeply, and she said, “This experience is not food. It's much more — it's a part of my life.
It's exactly like this. I'm getting into my memories, touching the times that remind you when you were a kid (and) touching your memories with food. That is how we transfer emotions. This is the ultimate thing we have to do.
Why is this important to you?
Because I don't care about cooking good food! You’ll forget tomorrow if it's just good food — it will be another good experience, and that's it.
But I am bringing food to another level, and it's the only way to cook for me.
I am at a stage where I try to transfer all my knowledge, what I learned and what I have, to the people who are working for me. This is going to be my biggest heritage.
I don't need to open another restaurant. My goal is to transfer my ideas, my playfulness (and to) share joy and happiness.
What role do mistakes and doubts play in your creative exploration?
Mistakes and doubts — they are different. Doubts are when you ask yourself questions. You are not full of yourself (and) you leave the door open for the unexpected. You create an environment full of openness.
Mistakes are mistakes. Sometimes you keep trying, experimenting and you make a mistake. You can be upset that you made a mistake and throw everything out ... but if you have poetry in your life, there can be an opportunity to create something new.
How do you keep yourself at the forefront of creativity?
Stealing ideas from others is necessary — you want to keep evolving. You steal from music, a piece of art, nature and you make it yours. That is a sparkle of creativity. Usually when inspiration comes from passion, it's a way of transferring emotions, and transfer of emotions is the most difficult thing ever.
If cooking is a transfer of emotions, can diners taste when a chef is unhappy?
If you have sensibility, you will experience that, but the professional approach (of a chef) — this is where it makes a difference. When I walk into a restaurant, I have to not involve all my guests in my personal life.
To be a professional, you need to not let emotions get into you — hey, I didn't expect this kind of conversation!
Are you enjoying it?
I am! And the difference between a professional and a mediocre chef is the professional chef has that strength of leaving things outside the door and detaching from everything that affects him.
In fact, cooking is a way to rebuild the balance you need in your private life. Creativity brings you so many things. When you struggle, when you go deep on the inside to fetch things out, that's the way. That is the moment you create something special.
Cooking has become so much more complicated these days. There’s the business to take care of, there’s awards and recognition in the equation. How do you continue to cook freely?
I never compromise on my cuisine. That is why it took longer than usual for (Osteria Francescana) to arrive at the first, second and third Michelin stars — because my food has always been an expression of who I am and how I grew up.
Cooking is not something that is written in history, and I re-create it. I am writing my history. And it has always been like that for me. It is a feeling on the inside. It is how you experience everything. I had the freedom to express myself as I wanted to. I felt I had to do it this way. I cannot and do not know any other way.
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