Blending Past & Present
Written by Saida El Harakany
Massimo Bottura may arguably be one of the world's top chefs, but his genuine appreciation for food is simple. As one of the world’s leading food storytellers, using ingredients as vessels of emotion, it’s easy to see why Bottura is drawn to Cairo; he simply wants to cook for the people. In doing so, he ignites the spark that will carry a new generation of contemporary tastemakers into the future.
Saida El Harakany is the Art Advisor and Director of Cultural Programming at Legacy (operators of the Grand Egyptian Museum). She is a kindred spirit with a passion for food and a belief in local gastronomy. Saida was one of Cairo Food Week’s biggest supporters; from the get-go, her team met ours with equal excitement, and together, we took on the challenge.
This is her retelling of the legendary night Massimo Bottura cooked for Cairo, surrounded by thousands of years of history at the Grand Egyptian Museum.
It’s an unusually hot day for June with the temperature soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, but as soon as you enter the banquet space of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), you are instantly transported to a breezy oasis of papyrus. Ahead of you is an exhibit that “honors the aquatic plant that forever changed the course of history,” curated by Nooge Taher of the Nook.
Titled “Papyrus Ripples”, it showcased the deconstructed process of making papyrus, broken down step by step, just as a recipe is constructed by adding flavors upon flavors. And there, in the middle of the exhibit, I spot Massimo Bottura mesmerized by the display.
He is particularly enchanted by a wooden stool produced by Amr Orensa specifically for the show. The stool pays homage to ancient Egyptian woodwork techniques. It was a moment of dialogue in mastery where a MasterChef recognizes and appreciates the mastery of the designer.
Before I say more, let’s rewind to the night before. Egypt was hit with a major sandstorm. We had planned to host the dinner outdoors and weren’t sure what to do now.
This was the inaugural dinner of the first edition of CFW. So much planning had already gone into every detail, yet here we were about to be defeated by a sandstorm. The whole team rushes for a meeting: Nooge, co-founder of Cairo Food Week (CFW) Hoda El Sherif, Mohsen Hafez from the organizing company GT Events, and the GEM’s team. And then Hoda says, “We are literally taking Cairo by storm.”
Collectively we decide that the dinner will be moved indoors. Everything has to be rearranged. We needed to move fast.
That whole night, this entire experience, was a lesson in leadership, starting with the two founders of CFW — Hoda El Sherif and Sherif Tamim. They had a vision for this event, and from the get-go had the humility to realize that for it to come to life, they had to work collaboratively; they had to include everyone with a passion for food, for culture, for Egypt. And so everyone in the field was invited: chefs, designers, veteran restaurateurs, brand new eateries, food startups, historical venues, academics, and bloggers. It became everyone’s dream.
“Tonight we celebrate the harmonious fusion of culinary artistry, thoughtful design and Egypt’s magnificent heritage.”
Back at the museum, everyone knows who Chef Massimo Bottura is, and we’re all in anticipation and haven’t had a bite all day. I have to say I was, unsurprisingly, blown away by the culinary experience. But what was an eye opener for me was the process, the collaborative effort, the whole team. This night was truly a lesson in leadership.
The first course is served: ‘Pasta al Pesto in Abstract,’ which, in his words, is a marriage between a mistake and an experiment. Ten years ago, one of Bottura’s chefs mistakenly overcooked 7 kg of pasta. But instead of tossing them out, he asked if he could turn them into a creamy miso-like paste that could be repurposed later, and according to Bottura, “it was so sweet and full of life that we had to do something with it.” The resulting dish — which included toasted pine nuts, string beans, crunchy potatoes, olive oil and fresh basil — pays tribute to traditional pesto but finds its inspiration in miso, which is quintessentially Japanese.
“I have to say I was, unsurprisingly, blown away by the culinary experience. But what was an eye opener for me was the process, the collaborative effort, the whole team. This night was truly a lesson in leadership.”
“Food is medicine and healing, it is a form of expression. It is the epitome of love and loyalty.”
