Johanna Mendelson Forman

Adjunct Professor in International Affairs

In 2015 during the Milan Food Expo, Boturra wanted a way to use the food waste from the Expo to help feed the homeless of that city. With the collaboration of a local Catholic parish, and with the blessing of the Pope, Boturra opened the first Refettorio. He invited some of the greatest chefs in the world to come and cook in the church’s refettorio kitchen to repurpose food waste and create what I consider to be the beginning of the social gastronomy movement. The book is a testament to how food has become a means of connecting and also a way to create social integration. Today there are Refettorio dining rooms in London, Paris and Rio de Janeiro with another planned for New York City.