Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (CNN) — It’s a soup kitchen serving Rio’s castaways with some of the biggest names in the culinary world stirring the pot — and that’s just the way Michelen-Starred chef Massimo Bottura wants it.
“The second night, there were two guys who left the room saying, ‘It’s the first time in my life that we were treated like human beings – like prince and princess.’ It’s breathtaking because it is exactly what we want to do here. We build the dignity of the people,” said Chef Bottura
To top it all off, they’re using surplus ingredients originally destined for the Olympic Village served up under fine art on tables designed by Campana Brothers to show off dinner stains. “Because the touch has to be perfect, but with no varnish because you have to see the traces of what was the dinner of the first night, the second night, the third night and on and on and on the wood you touch the wood and see the history of this place,” explained Bottura.
An ambitious project called Refettorio Gastromotiva that just opened in Rio’s rundown Lapa neighborhood – catering to those in need. Bottura teamed up with Brazilian chef David Hertz to make it all happen.
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