Food rescue

The project Refettorio Ambrosiano, in Milan, was concocted by chef Massimo Bottura as an off-site project for the Expo 2012 following the line of the theme “Feed the Planet; Energy for Life”.

Having faced the fact that every year in Italy a worth of 8.7 billion euros of food are thrown in the garbage, he decided for action with a project which aimed for up-cycling the food waste generated by Expo using them to prepare meals for the people in need. In an abandoned theatre (Teatro Greco) donated by the catholic church, a beautiful structure with a pro-level kitchen and a hall with enough space to fit about one hundred guests came to life after a 6-months renovation. The fact that the structure should not only be functional but also beautiful, was one of the ingredients chef Bottura considered essential, because the dining hall had to be a place to feed not only the body but the soul as well. During the Expo, Massimo Bottura invited over 60 world-class chefs to visit the Refettorio and cook with the wastes produced by Expo in order to produce delicious and healthy meals for the homeless of the neighbourhood.

The project did not end with the Expo. At present, under the Governance of Caritas Ambrosiana, the Refettorio is still up and running, and its kitchen continue to prepare delicious meals for the homeless, cooking the daily supply of wastes coming from supermarkets and grocery dealers.

The focus of our reportage is on the produce, and in particular on the path it follows from the moment it ceases to be a waste, and becomes a resource. For this reason we started off in the morning with the van which is used to collect the food wastes from various supermarkets and grocery dealers in Milan, then we arrived in the kitchen of Refettorio where they were properly taken care of, and cooked for dinner.

On the aestethic side, we decided to give an omogeneous look to the project by the use of an external speedlight as the main light source. This choice eneabled us to single out and nobilitate the produces, putting them at the center of the stage as they deserve, telling a story where a battle in the war against food waste was finally won.

This is a Plastikwombat - Photography, Art and Concept project, by Silvia Vaulà and Paolo Grinza

(Data source: http://www.foodforsoul.it/projects/refettorio-ambrosiano-milan/).