Tempi di Recupero

with Carlo Catani

in ENGLISH

A “culture of reuse” is establishing itself in the best culinary practices around the world, an ancient art that is being renewed and updated based on contemporary food habits. The oldest societies have always paid the greatest attention to each individual ingredient available, giving space to creativity in order to make the most of every scrap and offcut.

The “Tempi di Recupero” project, conceived by Carlo Catani, was launched in 2013 at Faenza’s L’Osteria della Sghisa. Over 40 participants, including Michelin-starred chefs, restaurateurs and azdore (the legendary housewives of Romagnola tradition, the queens of the domestic hearth) have since taken their turn to propose recipes based on the quinto quarto (the “fourth quarter,” another term for offal), dishes that repurpose leftovers or forgotten traditions that use humble or little-known ingredients.

In August 2018, a book was published by Quinto Quarto Edizioni that reflects the Tempi di Recupero experience, bringing together all the recipes in one volume along with writings on the theme of reuse and its economic and social value and comments from the chefs on their approach to combatting food waste. The book is introduced by Carlo Petrini, Slow Food’s founder and president, and by Norbert Niederkofler, whose three Michelin stars are probably in part due to his careful attention to the subject of waste.