Massimo Bottura is an Italian restaurateur and the chef patron of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena, Italy which has been listed in the top 5 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards since 2010 and received top ratings from ESPRESSO, Gambero Rosso and the Touring Club guides. Osteria Francescana was ranked 2nd World’s Best Restaurant at the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2015. In June 2016 Osteria Francescana was ranked No. 1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and No. 2 in 2017. Franceschetta 58, an informal dining brasserie and bar serving small plates was Bottura’s second restaurant project and opened in 2011 in Modena. This was a collaboration with Bibendum director Marta Pulini.

Bottura has written four books, Aceto Balsamico (2005), Parmigiano Reggiano (2006), PRO. Attraverso tradizione e innovazione (2006) and Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef (2014).

He is on the board of directors of the Basque Culinary Centre, a project directed by Ferran Adrià. After the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes in the region, which caused damage to millions of pounds’ worth of Parmigiano Reggiano, Bottura worked with local producers to raise awareness of the situation. He also took part in the Crave International Food festival in Sydney in October and played the leading role in a festival in Taiwan, La Festa di Chef Massimo Bottura.

2013 saw Bottura take the role of Ambassador for Food in the Year of Italian Culture in the United States. He was also a guest of honour at the Cancún-Riviera Maya Wine and Food Festival in March. In May 2014, he opened his first restaurant outside of Italy, “Ristorante Italia di Massimo Bottura” in Istanbul, Turkey. He is the subject of a 2016 documentary film Theater of Life, about a soup kitchen he created using food waste from Expo 2015 in Milan.