Massimo Bottura

We do a lot of, uh, master classes and pop-up events.

We have Massimo Bottura coming to India again for the third time only for the Leela.

Mm.

Uh, he comes through.

[laughs] Okay.

Well, Steve, if you had told me years ago that one day I will be the general manager of one Michelin key hotel, leading a private member club, working alongside with the Massimo Bottura, that in Italy he has three Michelin star in torno subito, and the managing, you know, an operation where hospitality, art, eh, culture, food, business, all live under one, one roof, probably I, I would, uh, believe you because I always believe in myself, and if you don't believe you- in yourself, who will? So-

I love that

...

And so explain to people what that is, because I don't think people understand, some listeners.

What is that? Why is that so important?

Torno Subito is a restaurant of Massimo Bottura.

The menu is, uh, explain about the Italian Riviera with a, with a twist.

This 8,000-square-foot expansion is a $2.4 million project.

It's being developed by Food for Soul, a global nonprofit founded by world-renowned Italian chef Massimo Bottura.

The goal is to reduce food waste, combat social isolation, provide what organizers call dignified hospitality, and it'll open next year.

The Referito Detroit is expected to serve about 250 meals a day using donated and surplus ingredients to create dishes, all kinds of dishes, Moroccan chicken stuffed portobello mushrooms, you name it.

Now, the soup kitchen model is changing for the Capuchins.

Now CSK is partnering with Chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore's global nonprofit, Food for the Soul, to transform its Meldrum Community Center into Refettorio Detroit, an innovative $2.4 million project.

I was fascinated by this story to see how this model is changing.

We are happy to welcome Father, uh, Brother Gary Wegner, executive director of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, to WJR, a frequent guest.

And his name

is Massimo Bottura.

Massimo Buttura.

Okay, tell us more.

They make high-end cookware.

Instead of just opening a retail store in Italy to try and sell pans to home cooks, they tapped Massimo Bottura, one of the most legendary, universally respected chefs on the planet, to equip his famous refitorio kitchens with their gear.

That is a masterclass in prestige positioning.

By aligning with Bottura, Hexclad isn't just selling a frying pan.

And then, uh, that creates, uh, this connection of, uh, their general public and what they can, you know, push their chefs towards it.

If you're a chef, like, there's a rumor, I don't know if it's true or not, there's a rumor that Massimo Bottura, one of the best chefs in the world, gets a million dollars from Lavazza a year.

If this is true, he is just selling out.

But his crowd is not realizing that he's selling out because his crowd doesn't know much about coffee.