Rio De Janeiro: Massimo Bottura, the distinguished Italian chef, whose Osteria Francescana in Modena was this summer named the best in the world – to see how waste pours out of the bloated Olympic machine. He wanted to create something from the waste. The outcome has been food surpassing anything the Peatys, Murrays and Farahs of this world will have enjoyed in the past 11 days.
On an unused piece of wasteland in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Bottura has thrown up Refettorio Gastromotiva, a restaurant where, for the past two weeks, Olympic ingredients have been served to those who are in the most desperate need of it, with 70 at each sitting. The idea has gathered momentum. Chefs from across South and Central America have been arriving daily to join Bottura for the ultimate test of their profession: what to prepare when no one can foretell what the delivery lorry from the Olympic Village will arrive with next.