Slow Food, Fast Cars| (*****) Highly recommended
By Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore
This beautifully designed book is actually the work of three authors. World-renowned celebrity chef, restaurateur, art, music, and motorcycle lover Massimo Bottura, his American-born wife, business partner, curator at their painstakingly restored house/hotel Casa Maria Luigia, Lara Gilmore, and Casa ML's head chef, Jessica Rosval, who shares her recipes for Emilia dishes, plus more.
Chef Bottura hails from Modena, known for its balsamic vinegar, located within the prolific and lush Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. In 1995, Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in the historic center of Modena. His three Michelin-starred restaurant has only twelve tables and a seven-month-plus waiting list. Osteria Francescana ranked first on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list twice, in 2016 and 2018.
Slow Food, Fast Cars is the perfect title for this collaborative book. Chef Bottura has been an avid supporter and spokesperson for the Slow Food International movement. Modena is close to Maranello and Bologna, where the headquarters of Italy's high-performance car companies Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini are located.
At the beginning of this book, the authors clarify that "This is not Tuscany”, firmly setting the location in Emilia-Romagna. Restoring Casa Maria Luigia, named for Massimo's mother, was a passion project. Upon the meticulous restoration, the twelve-room hotel has continued to evolve into a place to enjoy art, music, cars, and exceptional seasonal ingredient-driven cuisine.
This book contains many recipes created by head chef Jessica Rosval, many of which were made for the property's outdoor kitchen, "Tola Dolza", which is the Emilian expression for "take it easy." Tola Dolza emerged in 2020 after three months of Covid lockdowns while the hotel was forced to close. They adapted and forged on creating nine-course dinners with smoky flavors and earthy ingredients.
This book is full of beautiful photographs, recipes, pantry staples, and insights into what makes Emilia-Romagna so distinctive.
Slow Food, Fast Cars.
Format: Hardback
Size: 270 × 205 mm (10 5/8 × 8 1/8 in)
Pages: 256 pp
Illustrations: 200 illustrations
ISBN: 9781838667245
Publisher: Phaidon
Price: $59.95
