Tempi di Recupero Week

A week to say what we care about all together.
A week of conviviality, sustainability and taste.
A week to feel part of a global network with the same goal: leftover food recovery.

All this, and much more, the Tempi di Recupero Week project that took shape in autumn 2019 with the desire to celebrate the network of ‘recuperators’ created by our association. We asked ourselves, how to involve chefs, innkeepers, azdore and ice cream makers from all over the world to cook their recovered leftover dishes at the same time? And we found the answer in TdRWeek, an event that celebrates recovery and brings those who believe in a more ethical and sustainable cuisine closer together! A year later, the family of ‘recuperators’ has expanded and has also welcomed winemakers.

The 2019 edition was an exciting and surprising first edition that made so many of us emotional: we can’t wait for the start of TdRWeek 2020, which will take place from Saturday 21st to Sunday 29th November, to see so many ‘recuperators’ at work again! Last year the event was a great success and involved 180 participants from all over the world: the majority, given the origin of the project, came from Italy, but there was no lack of adhesions – 32! – from foreign countries, a sign of a growing interest and a widespread understanding towards the themes dear to us.

Restaurants and taverns, including 16 Michelin Stars and 21 Slow Food Snails, along with wine bars, ice cream parlours, pizzerias, schools, and private enthusiasts, have contributed to making this week unforgettable! All those who chose to celebrate the leftover recovery as diners were no less important, enlivening the evenings as true greedy recuperators. We had fun and we saw and tasted excellent examples of leftover recovery! In London Cristiano Meneghini from Tongue ‘n Cheek prepared some original beef heart ‘patties’; in New York Michele Casadei Massari proposed some spaghetti with a particular eggplant petiole sauce, while Alessandro Trezza made a recovery of wine leftovers and cheese crusts with an interesting risotto.

In Italy, the three-starred chef Mauro Uliassi, delighted us with ossobuco di mare; chef Stefano Ciotti, one Michelin star, recovered the Ascolana olive seeds in a broth, to accompany mullet and its bottarga. The talented chef Gianluca Gorini vented his creativity in a recovery menu that he proposed for two memorable evenings. Chef Marco Visciola amazed us with ‘Cod from head to tail’, an entire menu – from appetizer to dessert! – dedicated to the typical fish of the Ligurian tradition. There were also delicious homemade Azdore dishes such as the contadina soup of beans and chestnuts, or the traditional passatelli with potato peel broth. And what better example of ‘fifth quarter’ pizza than the one prepared by Davide Fiorentini, with velvety stems and leaves of Romanesque broccoli and head coppa.

The wishes of the most greedy ones have been fulfilled by the ice-creams of the Recovery, to the taste: the one with dry bread by Stefano Guizzetti of Ciacco, or the integralist zabaglione of the ice-cream makers of Ottimo! Good is not enough. In short, it was a recovery for all palettes!

In addition, thanks to the contribution of all of you, we made a donation to Food for Soul, a non-profit organization founded by Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore to combat food waste, and Food for Change, a Slow Food project to combat climate change.

The Week Home Edition, the digital edition of the Recovery Week launched in Italy during the spring of lockdown, also brought together virtually dozens of representatives from the world of catering, culture and amateur chefs in the name of sustainability: the recovery has not stopped!

It has been a year of great difficulties for everyone, and restaurateurs are among the most economically affected categories and need the support of everyone: our part is to work to strengthen the network of recuperators. The Week 2020 will be different because the modalities will adapt to the new way of catering: if we can’t go to the restaurant to taste the recovery dishes, they will come to us, with take-away and home delivery, to make us live the TdR Week dinners safely and remotely, united by good food. Each one of us is invited to participate and give his contribution during this week, designed to make us all feel part of a change in daily practices: not only those who are committed to cooking, but also those who choose to taste the dishes of the recovery with curiosity!

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But what happens during TdR Week?

First of all, we recover! And it’s done by cooking! Anyone who wants to join the “recuperators”, has only to become a member of the Recovery (this year at a reduced price with the Covid promotion), decide on which days to organize your special meal, and let yourself be inspired by their inspiration to compose a very personal menu based on recovery dishes. It is precisely the dishes that tell us about leftover food recovery: the leftovers from the day before, which are transformed into a new delicious dish; the fifth quarter – of meat, fish and vegetables – which is exploited by a creative preparation; and the tradition that is rediscovered with its lost recipes and rare ingredients.

The invitation to take part to the Week is addressed to everyone!

For an exponent of catering, or for those who love to dabble in cooking, it is an opportunity to transform their kitchen into a laboratory of leftover recovery: preparing a dish from leftovers is a concrete act to demonstrate that a more sustainable and fairer cuisine is possible, both at home and in restaurants.

For a lover of food and sustainability, TdR Week is a unique opportunity to discover the original dishes of the leftover recovery, designed to be good for our palate and the planet.

Through a recovery menu we can discover sustainable practices that can contribute to change on a daily basis.