How Massimo Bottura Got Me Through Quarantine
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By Sophie Braker
A few weeks after COVID forced me to move home, my mom came to me with an Instagram live she wanted us to watch together. It was a video of Massimo Bottura, the famous Italian chef, cooking dinner for his family in Modena, Italy.
Italy’s surge of COVID cases locked down the country including Massimo’s restaurants. Here in America, I was a senior at Johnson & Wales University, just back from our early spring break when the first cases appeared in America. It was bizarre to watch how quickly things shut down after one day of classes. It was hard to move home, pack up my dorm room in a hurry, say goodbye to friends I thought I would see again in three months at graduation. It was scary for me as a chronically ill person that no one knew much about COVID or about what was going to happen next.
I was stuck living with my parents again when I was so close to being an independent adult, so close to being truly out in the world. The only thing that was keeping my mom and I from fighting, the way we had constantly the previous summer, was the fear of COVID. And then “Kitchen Quarantine” came along.
It cracked us up in the beginning that we were watching Massimo make dinner. The previous summer my parents and I had gone to Slow Food Nation’s festival in Denver. We’d stood in front of the cookbook tent watching a man sign books and wondering why he had such a long line. We’d never seen or heard of him before. That very night we watched the Venice episode of Somebody Feed Phil and Phil went to Modena to visit Massimo Bottura. “Oh my God,” I said, “it’s the guy who was signing books!” We were shocked! He must be famous (because clearly the mark of fame is being on Phil Rosenthal’s food travel show). All these months later the guy we didn’t know was the best part of our day.
“Kitchen Quarantine” went live at 8 pm Italian time which was 12 pm in Colorado. Mom and I arranged our schedules, work and school, so that we could eat our lunch, usually reheated pasta or eggs with toast, while watching Massimo cook some fabulous dinner. We fell in love with the Bottura kitchen, their house, their family: Charlie, Lara, Alexa, and even their dog, Monkey. Massimo switched back and forth from Italian to English at lightning speed as he ran around their magical kitchen showing Alexa, his daughter, the founder and filmmaker of “Kitchen Quarantine,” what they were making. Lara and Alexa often had to jump in to translate when Massimo forgot to switch back or when off on a tangent.
As the show gained more popularity, Massimo interviewed guest chefs from around the world. They were sent food ingredients and products to use, fresh mozzarella de boffola, a box of food from New Zealand, and even a gelato machine. They were so positive and so generous that you couldn’t be annoyed when they plugged their own businesses. Mom and I quickly picked up on Italian words including Villa Manodori, their balsamic vinegar company, and Café Maria Luigia, their country house hotel. Every morning, we wondered what they were going to make for dinner today, looking forward to our lunch time.
“Kitchen Quarantine” came to an end. Italy opened back up in late May as the cases fell. I had gotten an internship with Best Served, who ironically also live streamed at noon. Mom and I watched the last few weeks in the evenings instead of at lunch. We were so sad when the show ended. The Bottura family and their little IG show helped so many people get through the first months of quarantine. We are grateful to them for opening their home, their lives, and their kitchen. Cooking is an act of love and they truly showed that.
A few months later, I got a puppy who I named Massimo. My parents and I raised him together for a year and I was finally able to move out on my own in April of 2021. I think of Massimo Bottura often, especially when people ask me where my dog’s name comes from.
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Sophie Braker is the Director of the More Voices Initiative. She started working for Best Served Creative after graduating from Johnson & Wales University where she studied baking and media. Sophie lives and works in Denver with her dachshund Massimo.
Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Best Served. To achieve our mission of bringing more voices to the table, we are committed to sharing a variety of viewpoints across the industry.
