Dinner on Thanksgiving night in Modena was the highlight of the trip. So much so, that I had to sleep on it and collect my thoughts before writing in my journal. First, a tiny bit of background:
Since opening in 1995 by Massimo Bottura and his wife/partner Lara, Osteria Francescana has twice been named Best Restaurant in the World (it’s also been named second best once, and third best twice). The restaurant has 3 Michelin Stars. In 2019, Massimo and Lara opened Casa Maria Luigia in the countryside just outside of Modena, and opened a second Francesca on the property. It was at that time they began changing the tasting menu at the Osteria yearly, with the new restaurant offering a tasting menu of “greatest hits” from the Osteria, so that the dishes that earned them their 3 Michelin Stars would live on. It was Francesca at Maria Luigia where we dined. (At some point in the future, we’d love to stay at Maria Luigia. It looks amazing. It’s a farmhouse, and is furnished with Massimo and Lara’s personal items, including Massimo’s extensive vinyl collection, which guests are free to play.)
The evening began with Lara greeting us and explaining the inspiration behind the four communal tables (different from the traditional seating at the Osteria). She then introduced head chef Jessica Rosval, who was previously Chef de Parti at Osteria Francescana when it received its third Star, and was recently named “Best Chef in Italy”.
Jessica gave us the story behind the first three (of nine) dishes (she would come out twice more to explain the rest of the dishes). The newest of the dishes was created by the entire team of chefs during COVID lockdown, individually at home and over Zoom, after Massimo challenged them to create a dish inspired by Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. The dish debuted at the Osteria when it re-opened after lockdown, and is now currently on the menu at Maria Luigia.
Massimo arrived later in the evening (he began the evening at the Osteria, and finished the evening at Maria Luigia…he splits time between them nightly). After a brief welcome, he went to the back, but came back out later and spent time chatting with each table. (We talked about his Master Class, which I told him I loved…)
Speaking of the tables: when Lara was telling about how after setting up communal tables at a soup kitchen, she and Mossimo wanted to make community the focus of the new restaurant, I was thinking to myself “yeah, sure, as if a communal table is going to be more important than food that has received three Stars…” I was wrong.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: the food was absolutely amazing and worthy of the accolades. I won’t bore you with descriptions of each because I wouldn’t be able to do them justice, but there are a couple short video clips of Jessica explaining some of them.
That being said, the communal table did end up being the true star. The two other couples at the table (one from Greece, the other from Philadelphia) were great. We all had an amazing time chatting about our respective lives, and the food we were experiencing. Contact info and social media connections were shared all around. The entire experience was made exponentially better because of the people at our table.
That’s all for now. If you get the chance, get a seat at the table!
The Rest of the Photos
Leave a reply