A few select Maserati and Zegna customers enjoyed the spectacle and tasted the culinary delights made by the visionary chef: fast cars and slow food were at the heart of the experience, with a special rice dish inspired by and named after the SUV Levante.
During the event, Bottura delighted spectators, sharing his vision, his passion and his journey; as a boy, he grew up with the sound of the engine, as well as with balsamic vinegar and his grandmother’s wisdom in the kitchen.
Starting with this philosophical background, he has reimagined the culinary traditions of Italy and Modena, taking an extremely contemporary and sometimes even futuristic approach, coming up with dishes such as the Levante, inspired by the Maserati SUV.
Levante is a wind that blows across Italy from the Adriatic in the east to the Tirreno Sea in the west. It brings with it unexpected aromatic ingredients in the form of citrus infused rice served on top of fresh water fish marinated in fennel and orange.
The chef also prepared other dishes inspired by his origins and his childhood food memories. This is true of “The crunchy part of lasagne”: a taste of the memory of being a child and – like every kid – always trying to pinch the most delicious burnt corner of the lasagne from the roasting dish that his grandmother had lovingly prepared. Today, this edible throwback takes the form of a sheet of crunchy pasta balanced on top of a hand-chopped meat sauce and béchamel so light it is like a bird about to take flight.