Massimo Bottura is a renowned Italian chef and owner of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Modena, Italy. He has consistently been listed as one of the world’s best chefs and is among the 2019 TIME 100 most influential people. Chef Bottura uses his global platform to advocate for reducing food waste, for healthy and sustainable food systems, and for protecting the environment and biodiversity through sustainable cooking practices and ingredient sourcing.
In 2016, Bottura founded Food for Soul with his wife, Lara Gilmore, a nonprofit organization that runs inspiring food waste and social and cultural initiatives around the globe. His Refettorios are community hubs built in underused spaces, where people in situations of social and economic vulnerability are welcomed and served free nutritious meals cooked with surplus ingredients that would have otherwise been thrown away.
Ahead of the UN Summit of the Future 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Massimo Bottura as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Advocate.