Dream of Italy is made possible by: Parmigiano Reggiano is a distinctive flavor experience on its own or with your favorite dish, cheese crafted in the heart of Italy for over 1,000 years.
Authentic.
Local.
Traditional.
Parmigiano Reggiano.
Go Traveler.
Streaming TV travel app available on all smart TVs and app stores.
Don't go anywhere.
Just travel.
Miio your bridge to Italian craftsmanship: fashion, accessories, homeware and beauty.
Made in Italy only.
Jupiter, Florida and online.
Dalla Fonte bringing Italy to your doorstep.
A culinary adventure through Italy.
One plate at a time.
And also made possible by: Music I'm Kathy McCabe.
I'm Kathy McCabe.
In this series well meet the authintic characters...
In this series will meet the aut characters, uncover the hidden t Uncover the hidden treasures, and discover what makes Italy the most fascinating country in the world.
Join me as we dream of Italy Music The future cannot be lived in: it's a dream.
We need to dream it and prepare a place for it in our souls.
This man's dream propelled him to create what has been hailed as the world's best restaurant, bringing food lovers from around the globe to the charming city of Modena in northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna region.
Best known as the birthplace of balsamic vinegar, as well as opera great Luciano Pavarotti.
Modena is now mesmerized by another maestro, Massimo Bottura.
Saturday morning, Its so alive.
Downtown Modena.
Music Music This is good luck.
Im going to take him back to America.
Masimos lifelong love affair with food began in his mother and grandmother's kitchens in Modena.
He met his American wife, Lara Gilmore, 30 years ago in New York, and together they have taken the influences of Modena to build a culinary empire that has redefined the gastronomic world.
Music Though their restaurants now extend from Los Angeles to Dubai, they are grounded and inspired by their ties to Modena and Emilia-Romagna, which they celebrate in their new book, Slow Food Fast Cars.
Massimo and Laras crown jewel remains their original restaurant, Osteria Francescana at Villa Stella, 22, in Modena.
Hailed by many as the greatest eatery on earth.
Music Music When I married Massimo, I married a restaurant.
Clapping Music By transforming traditional recipes of Italian grandmothers into his own unique artistic vision, Massimo has redefined the rigid rules of Italian food.
His innovative approach, seemingly devoid of nostalgia, ruffled feathers at first.
You've been his partner through all of this and all of your influences.
We've talked about him that he, well, he's disrupted a lot of things.
Absolutely.
He's an agitator.
He is.
To Massimo there's room for new looking at the Italian kitchen.
Bonjourno!
Hey!
I feel his energy before he comes in.
As I was speaking to you, I heard him coming down the driveway.
Can I steal an erbazzone?
Yes, weve been good, we haven't been eating.
We're waiting for you.
This is very good.
This is very good.
Is the perfect way of cooking.
Okay.
What was that like?
Telling Italy that we can leave Nonna behind a little bit?
When I start a new evolution of what I was doing in my cuisine, and very few people understood what I was doing, you know, I always have my, the ashes of my past year close to me, but my mind is always there in the future.
It's about dreaming, you know, dream big doesn't cost anything.
To say Osteria Francescana and its sister restaurant at Casa Maria Luigia are places of pilgrimage is no understatement.
with guests from nearly every continent on most days.
The multi-course tasting menus curate a symphony of flavors that take diners on a grand epicurean adventure with a very intentional flow that takes its inspiration from another great Modenese influence.
Music That's why we built a tasting menu like opera that goes like this and brings your palate up there.
And then the grand finale.
Surprise.
Surprise.
Out come the trumpets, out comes the fanfare, Everything out!
Boom, boom, boom.
Fireworks?
Everything.
But you couldn't have it without the adagio.
No, no, absolutely not.
An opera is an opera.
Massimo and Lara run multiple Modena restaurants, including the more affordable but equally delicious Franceschetta 58.
They also foster philanthropic ventures, support local farmers and collaborate with artists.
There's an emotional quality to a life in Italy.
It's never a routine.
Music The couple's latest project is Casa Maria Luigia, a luxurious, art filled countryside retreat where guests can dine and stay over.
Music Every night is like this for me, it's super passionate guests that comes from all over the world.
Ive been dreaming about this.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
While dinner at Casa Maria Luigia is truly memorable, guests simply rave about breakfast, where Massimo sets fire to the rule book once again.
Gnocco fritto, fried bread, sweet focaccia and erbazzone are rarely found on an Italian breakfast table.
Other dishes like cotechino topped with zabaione are only seen on Christmas morning.
Here, though, these dishes are morning staples.
Every day.
You have to come, you have to experience, you have to come here and understand what we are doing.
Because it's the only way, you know.
All the senses, you have to smell it, you have to feel it, you have to see it, taste it.
Music Music Family, the one he grew up in, Lara and his children, Charlie and Alexa and his Francescana family are Massimo lifeforce.
Music So, Massimo, we're here at Casa Maria Luigia, Yeah.
Named after your mother?
Yeah, in Italy, in my life the mother is so important.
Tell me about your mother.
Wow.
I know.
I have hard hitting questions.
I didnt expect this kind of question.
I know.
I'm going to use one word.
The word is everything.
Toto, il toto.
When I was ready to quit law school, she was the only one person in the world who understood my idea.
And to convince my father that I was making the right decision, she said to me, don't follow the money, always follow your dream.
This is a thing that I never said to anyone.
Well, I'm here.
I need to ask you.
Don't tell anyone.
Don't tell anyone.
Don't share with anyone.
Don't share with anyone.
Okay, between us.
While Massimo is now among the world's most celebrated chefs, for him, it is just as much about emotions as it is flavors.
The food is his vehicle.
Our job.
It's about sharing joy and happiness with everyone.
Every day.
Every day you walk into the room and you see all these amazing guests.
They come from all over the world.
You just have to say thank you.
Bye, bye bye.
Very good sound.
Yeah.
Music Music Fast cars.
When you live in the heart of Italy's motor valley, home to the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Pagani, it's only natural to appreciate fast cars.
For Massimo, that passion has led to the creation of a one of a kind space that seamlessly blends his love of automobiles, motorcycles and modern art.
It is affectionately named Massimos playground.
You have everything in here.
This is a dream.
Here you have probably one of the most iconic cars in the world of all time.
Is Ferrari Testarossa.
I designed this motorcycle and Ducati built this motorcycle for me.
Exactly.
Beautiful.
Good stuff.
I don't even start talking about art because you know theres so, there's so many things.
Yeah.
I imagine those two paintings that was at the Guggenheim in New York.
Wow.
Yeah.
And this is Mimmo Palladino is another extremely important artist, Italian artist.
So how do you sum up everything that's in here?
The playground is about having fun and stop being an adult.
And you always want to have, you know, a place, a toy, a teenager to play pool.
Yeah.
And so there you go.
This is our playground.
Ready?
It's just a beautiful day.
I think you're mother youre mother and my mother.
Today I'm in for a special treat with a ride in Massimos , 90th anniversary Ferrari Spyder, custom made for him.
And the first one off the assembly line.
Think very slow and then act very quick.
I'm getting the full fast cars, slow food, big dreams, experience.
Oh my!
Mio Dio!
LAUGHING Feels great, huh?
Well, dream big and you will end up in a Ferrari with Massimo Boturra.
What's special about a Ferrari, though?
You don't drive a car.
You drive a myth.
You know, it's something so special, so emotional that it's like, wow, this is crazy.
It's exactly when you buy an ingredient, you know, you buy an ingredient and you want to be cheap, buying a balsamic vinegar or a parmigiano reggiano, no, you have to buy the best because you're going to realize once you taste it in your palate, your palate is going to talk to you and say, thank you Massimo.
We're driving to Maranello, just outside Modena, home to the Ferrari factory.
Here Massimo has reimagined Cavallino, the restaurant first opened by auto icon Enzo Ferrari in 1950.
This is history.
Yeah, this is history.
Slow food and fast cars.
In his eateries in Modena and around the world, Massimo gives his chefs the same creative license he savors.
I think is the key of success of all our restaurants, is that each restaurant has his own personality I can see that.
Each restaurant has its own chef, his own mantra.
And they have the freedom to do whatever they want.
Traditional frittata with onion.
Yes.
Changing the format and become the the creme caramel of parmagiano reggiano cheese.
The head chefs at Massimos restaurants have all trained underneath him at Osteria Francescana.
Chef Riccardo Forapani spent ten years there and now brings his own twist to Cavallino.
This one's gorgeous.
Yeah.
So you have Modena in one plate.
The two most important ingredients, Parmigiano and, you know, balsamic vinegar.
Mmmm.
Very good.
Its so good.
I love the onion.
And liquor is giving you the bitterness is the perfect umami when you match with this kind of ingredients.
The palate is unbelievable.
I had the fast car and the slow food.
Music I'll take you in a secret place.
It is the art and the essence of slow food.
Music Modenas balsamic vinegar making tradition dates back centuries.
But Massimo and Lara have modernized their acetaia or vinegar cellar, making it a contemporary art gallery with a tapestry by Kehinde Wiley and a light installation by Ingo Maurer.
Come, come look.
So it actually is exposed to air the whole time?
Yes.
Yes.
Because it has to reduce and work and fermented.
So this is almost ready to go upstairs, you see?
Oh, my God I can see the heart.
Yeah, yeah.
Look, I can see the love.
You're right.
You're right.
You're right.
Its like a surprise.
The hearts from the heart.
Oh, it's so good.
To me this is that.
Yeah.
Is love.
Because everything we do, it's about love is not about business.
Balsamic vinegar is not a business.
Balsamic vinegar is love, is love.
Its like what we do in the restaurant every day.
We share joy and happiness with everyone.
It's not even work.
It's not work.
It's live life full of passion.
Oh, I love that.
Yeah.
So they're all asleep for a whole year?
Yeah.
Okay.
But I take you upstairs.
Upstairs?
Yes.
The balsamic vinegar is left to ferment for two years downstairs before it is carefully added to older barrels upstairs.
This meticulous process creates a rich and complex flavor as it ages, sometimes for decades.
Music Now you experience something very special.
We're going to taste the vinegar.
Okay.
You use your mouth to pull it out.
Yeah.
Okay, look how thick it is.
Yes, it's like a syrup.
Yeah.
Now, yeah.
You're ready.
Now you're ready.
Plum.
Exactly.
Plum in here.
I can't imagine anything better than that.
One more thing, but not the taste.
Just to show you.
Surprise and surprise.
Okay.
Music Surprise.
Oh!
Look, it's the sun.
I see you.
Is that the name of this?
Yeah.
When I saw it, I immediately connected with Modena with the acetaia.
The yellow.
They say Modena is famous for the yellow, the buildings, the first Ferrari, but also the color of the light.
It's not just an acetaia.
No.
Its an art gallery.
Happy cows, happy milk.
In the Modenese hills, 30 miles south of town near Zocca, Massimo sources his beloved parmigiano reggiano at Caseificio Rosola.
Where the Bizzocchi brothers have brought lots of Bianca cows back from near extinction to produce the milk that creates one of the world's most coveted cheeses.
And how long would this last you in your restaurant?
Two days.
LAUGHING Because the Parmigiano is in everything.
You see it.
You see these muscles.
It's all parmigiano.
I see.
But here you see balsamic vinegar.
You see?
Yes, Yes.
Smell.
LAUGHING I told you.
You're bleeding, youre bleeding it out.
I told you.
I'm bleeding balsamico.
The parmigiano reggiano cures for a minimum of 12 months before it's edible.
Opening the almost 100 pound wheel is a dangerous job requiring a special knife with a hooked blade to penetrate the hard outer rind.
But we have the incredibly rare chance to try cheese that has been aged for a staggering six years.
He is going to sign where he's going to cut it.
That is very dangerous because like a hook.
Yeah, he's very sharp.
Like a surgeon.
Its coming.
Okay.
Okay.
But go, go, go, go, go, go.
Wow.
Smell it.
Yeah.
This is for you.
And this is for me.
And this is for the Daniel.
Chin, chin.
One, two, three.
Woo!
Parmigiano!
Madonna Mia.
Incredible.
This incredible.
You can dream it.
You can make it.
I believe that too.
Yeah.
Music So let's go inside.
It's very busy right now.
At noon time.
Going this way or that way?
Let's go into the main door.
Okay.
While Massimo is at Osteria Francescana getting ready for dinner service, Lara takes me to Modena's historic Albinelli market, one of the places where Massimo and his team sourced the freshest ingredients for their restaurants.
This is one of the oldest cheese stands that's been in the market, the prosciutto, they have many Italian cheeses and dairy products, and there's people coming and going.
Uh huh.
Everyone has the most beautiful ingredients and trying to do.
From this very small corner shop that does only biodynamic only organic, features a lot of organic products, but they have only bought organic.
And so we can get a lot of things here that we can't find otherwise.
And I love how you can eat here too.
Of course, not just a shop.
That's something they started about ten years ago.
They said, let's think about making it a place for people can sit, buy some cheese, buy a bottle of wine and have a snack while they're in the market.
So it brings more life to the market and more energy socializing.
They're doing a great job here.
Music So this is where, Hey Kathy, welcome.
This is where the magic happens.
Osteria Francescana.
Massimo has saved the best for last with an invitation to Osteria Francescana, where 35 chefs and chefs in training from around the world come together to create magic.
Reservations open six months in advance and with only 12 tables are very hard to get.
If you can score one, you will be paying about 500 a person for a set menu with wine pairing.
So what are we doing today, Massimo?
Today you're going to experience something extremely special.
Be fed directly by me, LAUGHING, with the tasting menu of Osteria Francescana.
People can't even pay for that.
They cant pay for that.
This is not, not.
It's not for sale.
Music Mamma mia.
The order.
Yeah.
It's not the one dish.
You think a lot about this.
Its extremely important.
I have to bring you there, up there, step by step, step by step.
So your experience, you enjoy every single dish.
This is inspired by a very important dish that we did Its called Oh Deer.
Raspberry, hazelnut, apricots.
Wow.
And then you finish with the sauce.
And this is the Little Piggy.
This little piggy went to the market.
And what's he made out of?
This is a Napolitano way of thinking about pork.
Uh huh.
And this is a melted chocolate that is going to finish.
I love chocolate anything chocolate.
All right.
So the piggy is taking a bath.
Taking a bath.
Bano in chocolate.
Bano in chocolato.
Oh, my God.
Voila.
Okay.
All right.
The meat.
So, like butter.
But it melts.
Yeah, that's in the palate, but also the complexity of flavor.
There's a reason it's the best restaurant in the world.
Then we do the piggy?
Yep.
Here is chocolate star.
Dream.
Dream.
I do dream.
I dream of Italy.
Wow.
Very surprising.
This next dish is going to mix two of different experiences.
Music So inside you have the milk mixed with caramel.
Mmm.
And ice cream made with smoke milk.
And here you have the panna like the peel.
And here aromatic herbs to remember the grass where the cows eat.
So we go on the table, Im like trying to not... All right, let me try.
So here we go.
How can I go home ever?
I have died and gone to heaven.
When you hit the caramel, it's like,wow.
It's incredible.
I will remember this my whole life.
Good.
This day.
That's very important.
If you remember for the rest of your life, that means that we are transferring emotion.
So we did that exactly the right thing.
I bow to you.
I don't know who could do this better.
Everybody!
CLAPPING Incredible.
Music Enzo Mattioli Ferrari, great- grandson of the iconic Enzo Ferrari, lives in Modena and frequents Osteria Francescana.
Tonight, dining in the wine cellar.
You're from a family that's that's also synonymous with this area.
And we've been talking all week about slow food and fast cars.
And you wouldn't think they would go together, but they do.
In this area, yes.
Its why you come here.
You come here from Ferrari, balsamic vinegar, but youre coming here mainly for the food of Massimo.
Massimo was able to transform, you know, a mere restaurant.
He was able to put his art inside every dish.
And were always grateful for what he did for Modena.
In Massimo Botturas world, food is so much more than just sustenance.
It's a reflection of culture, passion and evolution.
I realize I've only scratched the surface of Modena and the Bottura family, so I'm staying longer to delve deeper.
Don't miss out on the next episode, which is part two of my Modena adventure.
In loving memory of Phineas Orazio McCabe Who is not just a terrier, but a Italian at heart Dream of Italy is made possible by: Parmigiano Reggiano is a distinctive flavor experience on its own or with your favorite dish, cheese crafted in the heart of Italy for over 1,000 years.
Authentic.
Local.
Traditional.
Parmigiano Reggiano.
Go Traveler.
Streaming TV travel app available on all smart TVs and app stores.
Don't go anywhere.
Just travel.
Miio your bridge to Italian craftsmanship: fashion, accessories, homeware and beauty.
Made in Italy only.
Jupiter, Florida and online.
Dalla Fonte bringing Italy to your doorstep.
A culinary adventure through Italy.
One plate at a time.
And also made possible by:
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