Michelin-Starred Chef Massimo Bottura Launches ‘Kitchen Quarantine’ IGTV Show

“Stay safe! Wash your hands, always wash your hands” is the main message from chef Massimo Bottura’s post-show Q&A following the first live taping of his cook-along IGTV show Kitchen Quarantine.

The celebrated Italian chef is not one who sits back when a pandemic hits. In May 2012, Bottura took action following two earthquakes in Italy that threatened the destruction of thousands of wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano through a ‘cookathon,’ where chefs across the world purchased the cheese so that they were not left to waste and businesses did not shutter following the natural disasters. 

He also has made food more accessible — Bottura’s goal is to combat world hunger — through his revolving Food for Soul nonprofit project, in partnership with his wife Lara Gilmore.

However, Bottura is known mainly for his Moderna restaurant, Osteria Francescana, which ranks as the top restaurant on San Pelligrino’s world’s best restaurants list, and his two Gucci Osterias — the original in Florence and his latest project in the heart of Beverly Hills at the top of the Gucci boutique on Rodeo Drive. 

On Saturday, the chef launched his Kitchen Quarantine series, a nightly live stream that airs at 8 p.m. CET (12 p.m. PT) on his Instagram account, where he cooks a full dinner using ingredients he finds in his fridge (menu items have included a curry, salad, parmesan cream and tortellini alla panna).

“It’s not a cooking show,” Bottura says on his postmortem Q&A (also on Instagram, following each live cook-along). “We just want to be part of the world.”