“One thing that is extremely important to me is that everything reflects the place where we are,” says Massimo Bottura of his restaurant philosophy. Fitting then, that when it came time for the famed Italian chef to celebrate the launch of Gucci Osteria—his first outpost in Los Angeles—he would do so with a glittering, Hollywood-style bash. From Gwyneth Paltrow to Dakota Johnson and Saoirse Ronan, the list of attendees gathered on the rooftop terrace of Gucci’s Rodeo Drive store Saturday night rivaled that of many of the city’s Academy Awards lead-up events.
But despite the A-list crowd—which also included Anjelica Huston, Beck, Dita Von Teese, Gia Coppola, Iggy Pop, Soko, Hari Nef, and Tyler, the Creator—the vibe was more friends-and-family than full-on Tinseltown. Though the new 48-seat restaurant (which will start taking reservations February 17) is the second collaboration between the Michelin-starred chef and the iconic fashion house, its roots go back decades—to 1975, when Bottura and Gucci’s now CEO Marco Bizzarri shared a desk in high school. “I believe in friendship,” explains Bottura, who met Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s creative director, at Bizzarri’s behest. “It was such a great energy between us,” recalls Bottura. “A perfect match.”
To that end, there were plenty of other longtime pals on hand to celebrate as well—including the artist JR, who photographed the chef’s 2014 book, Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef, and Karime López, Bottura’s chef de cuisine at Gucci Osteria in Florence. As guests nibbled on Bottura’s signature Italian cuisine (made with California-sourced ingredients) in the Michele-designed dining room (complete with pink velvet cushions, tufted red velvet banquettes, and geometric tiles), the party continued in the kitchen, with Salma Hayek and Anderson .Paak cheering on the entire back-of-house staff as they prepped.
Source: Vogue.com
