We grabbed a few minutes out of the Italian chef’s busy kitchen schedule to pepper him with our burning questions
Photography by Tyrone Wu (Hong Kong Tatler)
With his thick-rimmed glasses, black skinny jeans and chunky New Balance sneakers, Massimo Bottura would probably appear to the average person more like the member of an obscure Italian indie band than top chef.
How wrong they would be – Bottura is the force behind Modena’s Osteria Francescana, ranked the #2 restaurant in the world according to the San Pellegrino & Acqua Panna listing, known for his penchant for the unusual and his skill for the inventive.
He’s the kind of chef that will see the bright side in a broken lemon tart, and dedicate 72 hours of his brigade’s time to craft the perfect tagliatelle al ragu. While we were not part of the lucky scores of diners at the Hong Kong Jockey Club able to experience Bottura’s cooking, we at least managed to find 5 minutes out of his time to pepper him with a whole host of burning questions.
The 30 Questions
Videography by Tyrone Wu (Hong Kong Tatler)
- What’s the first thing you ate this morning?
- What was the last thing you drank last night?
- If you were a cocktail, what would you be?
- Prosecco or champagne?
- Pizza or pasta?
- Butter or olive oil?
- Favourite way to cook an egg?
- What’s the one book every chef should read?
- France or Spain?
- What’s your ultimate hangover cure?
- Would you rather diet or exercise?
- Your favourite pasta shape?
- What’s one ingredient would you never give up?
- What’s one ingredient can you not bring yourself to eat?
- Kitchen utensil you can’t live without?
- Favourite artist of all time?
- Would you rather open a museum or a theatre?
- What’s one sport you’re really bad at?
- iTunes or Spotify?
- Can you play us the first 10 seconds of the last song you listened to?
- Which actor should play you in a film about your life?
- And who would play your wife?
- Espresso or macchiato?
- What would you be if you weren’t a chef?
- What’s your worst food memory?
- Gin or whiskey?
- How do you like your steak done?
- Who did you last send a text message to?
- Favourite Hong Kong dish?
- What are you going to do right after this interview?
Bottura’s recent Phaidon cookbook, Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef, is out now.