Massimo Bottura And Robert De Niro Plan Bronx Project

Massimo Bottura's restaurant, Osteria Francescana, currently sits at the very top of the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list, where it would be easy for the chef to stay put in Modena and serve his patrons who reserve tables weeks, if not months, in advance.

But the chef, who is the focus of the first episode of Chef's Table, is instead headed to the Bronx to work on a new venture, Italian outlet Bergamo Post reports.

Bottura's planning a stateside outpost of his project, Refettorio Ambrosiano, a soup kitchen of sorts, with none other than Robert De Niro (and the Italian Consulate).

The project is something Bottura launched during Expo Milano last year, helping the festival rescue 15 tons of food by collecting leftovers from various pavilions and having chefs prepare it for the hungry. Bottura's taking the concept to Rio as well, where he will enlist the help of chefs like Enrique Olvera, Albert Adrià and Alain Ducasse to prepare food for residents of Rio's favelas during the Olympics.

Details on the Bronx project are scant at the moment, so stay tuned for updates.