Refettorio - Paris

March 4, 2019 - refettorio, la madeleine, Paris, solidarity, massimo bottura, The Foodalist

In Le Foyer de La Madeleine in Paris, Massimo Bottura (@massimobottura) and Lara Gilmore (@laratgilmore) made up a challenge by opening Refettorio Paris (@refettorioparis). In accordance to Food for soul (@foodforsoul) ‘s vision, ethics and aesthetics are one and the same: engage people to give a piece of beauty to poor people.

Built as a collaborative project between Food for Soul and Le Foyer de la Madeleine in the centre of the city, Massimo teamed up with two of the greatest names of French cuisine: chef Yannick Alléno, accompanied by his team, and chef Romain Meder (@romainmeder) and Alain Ducasse (@alainducasse) to create recipes on the spot using recovered surplus ingredients.

Guests were welcomed by a celery velouté with parmesan cream, followed by a rich first course of lamb and aubergines, and two desserts: chocolate ice cream with banana compote and banana chips, and a tangerine purée with rocket.

Meals cooked at Refettorio Paris are created with ingredients donated by Carrefour, Le Banque Alimentaire, Métro France and, a start-up whose aim is to fight food waste and empower supermarkets in the transition towards a circular economy. Products and ingredients from several restaurants of the AccorHotels group are going to be recovered and cooked in the services to come.

More than 80 women, men and children of all ages were invited to Refettorio Paris by intermediary associations, such as Emmaüs Solidarités and Aurore shelters. They had the unique opportunity to be the first diners to seat at the tables of the transformed dining area curated by architect Nicola Delon and designer Ramy Fischler, and enriched by installations from renewed artists JR and Prune Nourry. A team of hard-working volunteers served the guests at the table, contributed to run the service smoothly and created a convivial and cheerful atmosphere. More than just providing a warm meal, Refettorio Paris aims to create and stimulate human exchange.

Massimo Bottura stated the importance of ethics and aesthetics as one: “As Camus said, beauty cannot make revolutions. But one day, revolution will need beauty. This is a revolutionary project”.