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Fine Food, No Waste

A famous chef turns food waste into tasty meals

DADO GALDIERI/The New York Times/Redux

Chef Massimo Bottura puts the finishing touches on fresh meals.

Celebrity chef Massimo Bottura wanted to help solve two problems: food waste and hunger. A billion tons of food gets thrown away every year. Meanwhile, more than 820 million people in the world do not have enough food to eat.

Bottura opened his first restaurant nearly 30 years ago in Italy. He appeared in a Netflix cooking show and has written several cookbooks. In 2015, he hosted a temporary restaurant called Refettorio in one of his restaurants. The name comes from a Latin word that means “to remake or restore.”

Celebrity chef Massimo Bottura wanted to help solve two problems. The first was food waste. The second was hunger. A billion tons of food gets thrown away every year. But more than 820 million people in the world do not have enough food to eat.

Bottura opened his first restaurant in Italy. That was nearly 30 years ago. Since then, he’s appeared in a Netflix cooking show. Bottura has also written several cookbooks. In 2015, he used one of his restaurants to host a new, temporary restaurant. He called it Refettorio. The name comes from a Latin word. It means “to remake or restore.”

Going to Waste
A video about food waste in the United States.

Courtesy of Food For Soul 

Diners enjoy gourmet meals made from food that would have been trashed.

The restaurant wasn’t your typical eatery. In the kitchen, chefs took food that grocery stores had thrown away and turned it into delicious meals for those in need.  “A recipe, after all, is a solution to a problem,” says Bottura.

When guests entered the Refettorio, they were treated with warmth and dignity.

In 2016, Bottura opened a permanent location in Milan, Italy. He founded an organization called Food for Soul to create Refettorios around the world. It has launched 10 Refettorios in Europe, North America, and South America. More are on the way!

For Bottura, this work puts into practice one of his favorite sayings: “Cooking is an actof love.”

The restaurant wasn’t your typical place to eat. Chefs collected food that grocery stores threw away. They turned it into delicious meals. Then they fed those meals to people in need.  “A recipe, after all, is a solution to a problem,” says Bottura.

When guests entered the Refettorio, they were treated with warmth and dignity.

Bottura opened a permanent Refettorio in 2016. It’s located in Milan, Italy. He also founded an organization called Food for Soul. The goal of the organization is to create Refettorios around the world. It has launched 10 Refettorios in Europe, North America, and South America. More are on the way!

For Bottura, this work puts into practice one of his favorite sayings: “Cooking is an act of love.” 

Math Talk

How can working with fractions help cooks reduce food waste?

Math Talk

How can working with fractions help cooks reduce food waste?

Comparing and Ordering Fractions

What to Do

A fraction represents the equal parts of a whole. Number lines can help you visualize fractions to compare and order them.

Example

Order the fractions 1/8 , 4/8 , and 1/3 from least to greatest.

The fractions 1/8 and 4/8 have the same denominator. The fraction with the larger numerator is greater. It represents a larger piece of the whole.

4/8  >  1/8

The fraction 1/3 has a different denominator. We can use number lines to see it is greater than 1/8 and less than 4/8 .  

We can also find a common denominator to check:

1/8  =  3/24

1/3  =  8/24

4/8  =  12/24

So from least to greatest, the order is 1/8 , 1/3 , 4/8 .

Comparing and Ordering Fractions

What to Do

A fraction represents the equal parts of a whole. Number lines can help you visualize fractions to compare and order them.

Example

Order the fractions 1/8 , 4/8 , and 1/3 from least to greatest.

The fractions 1/8 and 4/8 have the same denominator. The fraction with the larger numerator is greater. It represents a larger piece of the whole.

4/8  >  1/8

The fraction 1/3 has a different denominator. We can use number lines to see it is greater than 1/8 and less than 4/8 .  

We can also find a common denominator to check:

1/8  =  3/24

1/3  =  8/24

4/8  =  12/24

So from least to greatest, the order is 1/8 , 1/3 , 4/8 .

Now You Try It

Refettorios often serve simple dishes that can feed many people, like this meal of pasta with fresh veggies below. Its recipe is scaled down for four servings. Use the measurements in the recipe to answer the questions. You can draw number lines on a separate sheet of paper to help you solve.

Refettorios often serve simple dishes that can feed many people, like this meal of pasta with fresh veggies below. Its recipe is scaled down for four servings. Use the measurements in the recipe to answer the questions. You can draw number lines on a separate sheet of paper to help you solve.

Veggie Pasta

  • 5/8 pound pasta
  • 1 cup eggplant, cubed
  • 3/4 cup zucchini, cubed
  • 1 cup yellow bell pepper, cubed
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 5/8 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
  • 2/3 cup black olives,  roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic, chopped
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Veggie Pasta

  • 5/8 pound pasta
  • 1 cup eggplant, cubed
  • 3/4 cup zucchini, cubed
  • 1 cup yellow bell pepper, cubed
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 5/8 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
  • 2/3 cup black olives,  roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic, chopped
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Which is greater: the measurement of zucchini or olive oil in this recipe?  

Which is greater: the measurement of zucchini or olive oil in this recipe?  

Which is less: the measurement for the chopped garlic or dried oregano? 

Which is less: the measurement for the chopped garlic or dried oregano? 

After making this recipe, you have 3/8 pound of pasta left. You want to make a different pasta dish that serves two. The new recipe calls for 1/4 pound of pasta. Do you have enough? 

After making this recipe, you have 3/8 pound of pasta left. You want to make a different pasta dish that serves two. The new recipe calls for 1/4 pound of pasta. Do you have enough? 

Put the measurements for the artichoke hearts, black olives, and red onion in order from least to greatest. 

Put the measurements for the artichoke hearts, black olives, and red onion in order from least to greatest. 

Continue Your Learning

  • Rewatch the video “Going to Waste” (above). Then, using information from the video and the article, create a pamphlet explaining why it’s important to prevent food waste. Include at least 2 ways every person can help reduce food waste and at least 3 number facts in your pamphlet.
  • Play a comparing fractions game with a partner! Roll 2 dice. Create a fraction using the greater number as the denominator and the smaller number as the numerator. Have your partner do the same. Then compare the fractions you and your partner rolled. Whoever has the greater fraction wins the round. Take 5 turns each. Whoever wins the most rounds is the game winner!

Continue Your Learning

  • Rewatch the video “Going to Waste” (above). Then, using information from the video and the article, create a pamphlet explaining why it’s important to prevent food waste. Include at least 2 ways every person can help reduce food waste and at least 3 number facts in your pamphlet.
  • Play a comparing fractions game with a partner! Roll 2 dice. Create a fraction using the greater number as the denominator and the smaller number as the numerator. Have your partner do the same. Then compare the fractions you and your partner rolled. Whoever has the greater fraction wins the round. Take 5 turns each. Whoever wins the most rounds is the game winner!
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