Catch the world’s number-one chef’s only dinner in Australia as he teams with OzHarvest for a memorable fundraiser.
If you’ve been holding out hope that Massimo Bottura would step into a restaurant while he’s in Australia for the World’s Best Restaurant Awards, you’re in luck. On 2 Sunday April, the chef of Osteria Francescana, the restaurant in Italy that currently holds the top slot in the World’s 50 Best restaurants, will host a charity dégustation with a handful of Australia’s top chefs, with proceeds going to OzHarvest and Bottura’s own not-for-profit, Food for Soul.
Related: #50BestTalks brings World’s Best Chefs to Sydney and Melbourne
OzHarvest’s warehouse in Alexandria, Sydney will transform into a makeshift fine-diner for the night. But just because the tickets are selling for $1,000 a pop, don’t expect Osteria Francescana’s ox rib-eye nor its tortellini with a Parmigiano-Reggiano cream; to align with the charities’ mission statements, the food is going to be cooked by a host of Australia’s top chefs working with ingredients which would usually be discarded.
”Ronni and I are both one hundred per cent committed to ensuring good food stops going to waste and is given to people who need it most,” says Bottura, referring to his pal Ronni Kahn, OzHarvest’s founder. “I’m delighted to host this dinner with OzHarvest to help tackle this global issue.”
Current menu teasers include southern calamari with black garlic and roast shellfish custard from Rob Cockerill of Bennelong, and a dish from of Sixpenny involving lamb marinated n beer wort with fermented beetroot peels and stems. Other chefs donating their time include O Tama Carey, Saint Peter’s Josh Niland, Biota’s James Viles and Africola’s Duncan Welgemoed, while Icebergs sommelier James Hird will pair Australian drops to each dish.
It’s not cheap, but it is for a very good cause – and, hey, it’s cheaper than the pilgrimage to Osteria Francescana itself.
Massimo Bottura’s OzHarvest Dinner, 2 Sunday April, 42-62 Maddox St, Alexandria, NSW. Tickets are $1000 per person, sold in groups of four, on sale at 9am on Tuesday 14 March at ozharvest.org/Massimo.
Clarification: an earlier version of this story was titled “Massimo Bottura wants to cook you dinner”; while Massimo Bottura is hosting the dinner, the cooking will be done by the Australian chefs mentioned in the story.
