Do we like Massimo Bottura?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Years of food-waste and community-kitchen work and a public push for an anti-homophobia law, with only a minor 2026 spat and a luxury-brand habit on the other side.
Bottura was born in Modena in 1962, wanted to be a footballer, and was pushed by his father towards law. He dropped out in 1986 to buy a run-down roadside trattoria, then trained under Alain Ducasse in Monte Carlo. Osteria Francescana opened in 1995 and now holds three Michelin stars.
The formative bit is his grandmother's kitchen. He calls that tradition of using everything “the original no-waste kitchen”, and it became his life's argument. He was also a tradition-breaker, and the Irish Times found him a law school dropout who campaigns to protect traditional Parmesan production, so he is no vandal of Italian food.
The recent stoush is small. At a Milan university talk, Dissapore reports, he asked whether the rector had been busy since she left the hall, comparing her to politicians who hand out a medal and vanish. The event series was reportedly suspended and the host's name dropped, and his lawyers reportedly defended her. The piece quotes no public statement from him, and calls the joke good-natured per one witness.
The real stuff is Food for Soul. It grew out of Expo 2015 in Milan, where he cooked with unused pavilion produce for vulnerable locals. It now runs a dozen community dining rooms, from London to Rio to Nairobi, designed to feel like proper restaurants rather than soup kitchens. He told TIME it had become “a movement”.
The only quibble is the high-end side: Gucci Osteria venues around the world and a posh restaurant culture. That is business, not harm, and it sits next to genuine work for people at the bottom of the queue. Would we support him? Yes, comfortably.