Care package: Top chef Massimo Bottura opens Refettorio OzHarvest Sydney

Restaurant fitouts are a complex and pricey business. Sourcing everything from the aesthetic (lights, chairs, tables, artwork and wall finishes) to the prosaic (toilet doors and storage cabinets) takes time, energy and, invariably, piles of cash.

Consider 481 Crown Street, Surry Hills. Originally a narrow Victorian terrace with 1920s Arts and Crafts embellishments, including decorative glass window features, in more recent decades it has housed neighbourhood diners and cafes. But two years ago, a generous buyer donated the space to OzHarvest, the food rescue and relief charity with the distinctive yellow-and-black logoed vans. And, after many pandemic delays, the space will open later this month (likely to be February 24) as a beautifully fitted-out eatery. Or rather, a Refettorio.

From the Latin meaning to "remake" or "restore", in Italian "refettorio" is commonly used to mean a dining hall for clergy or even students. Or it was until one of the world's most acclaimed chefs, and all-round force of nature, Massimo Bottura repurposed the concept, along with his dynamic wife and business brain, Lara Gilmore, to refer to a very special kind of social enterprise.

Working with charity partners around the world to create community hubs for the socially disadvantaged, where fine food and fabulous fitouts meet a serious anti-food-waste focus, Sydney is their latest collaboration.

"In Australia, people have a deep appreciation for food, its origin and connection to land and nature. There's a celebration of food and gastronomy," Bottura tells me from the US.

"But we still see habits of waste while individuals do not have enough to eat. The Refettorio is a place where we can bring these two ideas together, to show a new way of thinking about sustainability and caring for one another."

In 2015, I joined a small team of kitchen volunteers during the very first Refettorio​ opening in Milan. A partnership with Caritas, the international Catholic pastoral organisation, Refettorio Ambrosiano saw a run-down, abandoned theatre converted into a truly magical dining space, with designer furniture, a gleaming commercial kitchen and magnificent contemporary artworks on every wall. Unused food was transformed daily – initially by a roll-call of international star chefs including Noma's Rene Redzepi and Michelin-starred legend Alain Ducasse – into a fittingly elegant three-course meal, served on fine china to Caritas clients in need.

It was an inspiration on every level. (And hard work for sure, cleaning palettes of mushy strawberries for Redzepi, peeling and immaculately dicing kilos of potatoes for Japanese star Yoshihiro Narisawa – but uplifting to watch disadvantaged locals having a really special dinner.)

I also spent an evening as volunteer bread-and-water server at Refettorio Paris – an equally breathtaking space in the crypt of the historic La Madeleine Church. At the height of the COVID crisis, the Paris crew fed thousands daily with surplus-food meals, in collaboration with the city's restaurants and chefs. Seven years since Milan, just-launching Sydney and Geneva partnerships bring the Refettorio family to 13 world-wide under the banner of Food for Soul, Bottura and Gilmore's social impact organisation.

When the pair met OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn during Noma Australia's MAD food symposium at Sydney Opera House in 2016, a seed was sown. A year later, Bottura agreed to headline an OzHarvest zero-waste dinner with a cast of World's 50 Best chefs in Australia for the Melbourne awards ceremony. A Refettorio plan was born.

"We share core beliefs – dignity, respect, beauty, art, culture and food being the conduit to embracing and showing love," Kahn enthuses. "Massimo is a force of energy that is so infectious that anything to do with him is magic on a personal level. Huge respect."

Gilmore adds: "OzHarvest has been recovering and distributing food for more than a decade at such great scale across Australia and always done with grace, beauty and so much love. Their work was so inspiring and impactful. They understood that cooking is both a call to act and an act of love. This is the same kind of energy needed for a Refettorio and that is how this beautiful synergy began between us."

And so to the fruits of that partnership, the new Refettorio OzHarvest – or, in the best Aussie parlance, "the Ref".

After peering through the windows during lockdown, I finally get a site visit in October 2021. Project lead Martina Vaculik shows me around. The walls have been stripped to expose 1800s brickwork, natural light pours in from expanded windows, and extraordinary light-fittings include a series of First Nations' themed woven baskets and an incredible three-metre light sculpture speaking to the theme of Harvest.

Contributing to OzHarvest's sustainability ethos, there are solar panels, recycled timber and a number of repurposed items, as well as hundreds and thousands of dollars in donated time, design and construction expertise from an impressive list of "transformational partners" plus funky ceramics, cutlery, glassware, sleek chairs and tables – also donated.

"I'm filled with awe at the generosity that has filled this space," Kahn confesses. "It's been a true community collaboration all the way. It took three years from concept to building. I always knew I'd find a building but I didn't know someone was going to give me one! The owners were shocked at how beautiful it is now."

The aesthetic brief met, what about the food, you ask? Back again in December, I'm lucky enough to be a fly on the wall for one of the first soft openings – for client agencies, organisations regularly supplied with surplus food collected by OzHarvest.

The menu is impressive and reflects head chef Jez Wick's time in London helming Keralan-influenced restaurant Jikoni, as well as more recent zero-waste projects in Melbourne with the sustainability-focused Social Food Project.

Kicking off with a sweetcorn and green chilli beignet with tahini yoghurt and pepita furikake, the inaugural meal ends with a fabulous chai, black pepper and corn ice-cream, fried brioche and chilli fennel popcorn. All vegetarian (Kahn's stipulation), it's made primarily from rescued food, including Wick's clever fermentation technique to get maximum use of excess produce. Served in pastel bowls from Mud Ceramics (next door), it's just what you'd expect from the stylish setting – the culture of beauty and respect that is so central to the project and the Refettorio ethos.

Tables on both levels are full. "It's been a very emotional first community day," says Vaculik. "We've all been tearing up. One person said, 'This is like food I've only seen on TV.' It's amazing to give people that experience."

"Does this feel special to you?" I ask one guest from the nearby Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre. "It does," he says. "And it's important. Everyone wants to feel special and around here the gap between haves and have-nots keeps growing."

"Nothing looks cheap or tacky. I'll be bringing people here whom we know need to eat properly," adds centre manager, Stephen Lunny.

"It's stunning food," says Linda Westacott, as she cuts into Wick's romano pepper schnitzel main course (see recipe). A chef herself, Westacott cooks for the elderly and isolated at Beehive Industries, another local social enterprise, using OzHarvest rescued food. "It's very nice indeed," says a Beehive client next to her. "It doesn't make you feel like you're scrounging. And I like that it's vegetarian."

The plan, when the 50-seater space opens, is to serve lunch across two sittings four days a week to those in need. There will be takeaway options for those who prefer – or miss out on a seat – and, for the broader community, neighbourhood dinners and other fundraising initiatives.

"We want the community to own this," says Kahn. "We have a core group of staff and vollies, but we need to keep it going with everything from paying a meal forward to dinners and corporate events.

"And yes, it's a tiny little space, intimate and beautiful, but we will make it work. It's our coming of age. It's our 18th birthday this year. People see our vehicles and they know we rescue food. But this is an avenue for us to talk about sustainability, shifting and transformation and transforming lives. We'll use it for community activities too. Education. Maybe classes …"

Refettorio OzHarvest Sydney also creates a global connection with sustainability and community champions world-wide, including the Learning Network established recently to formalise knowledge-sharing between various Food for Soul partners.

On a January trip to the US, Bottura went to Refettorio Harlem, overseeing renovations and meeting the team. Gilmore, meanwhile, dropped in at Refettorio San Francisco, helping to serve meals-to-go and delivering free groceries to regular clients.

"We are a very small piece of the puzzle," Bottura confesses. "We are not feeding 5000 or even 500 people a day. We are inviting a limited number of guests into a safe and sacred space to experience the power of food to heal and build community. We believe that a meal is so much more than the food on the plate ... We are all coming out of two years of insecurity and we all need to renew our sense of community. We hope that the Refettorio model can lead the way to better and more equitable cities, and a more humane and caring society."

It's a glorious ambition and one that Sydney looks set to fulfil. And who knows? A little bird tells me a Melbourne Ref might just be next.

Joanna Savill is a long-time OzHarvest ambassador. For more details about Refettorio OzHarvest Sydney and ways to support it, see ozharvest.org. For the global Refettorio network, see foodforsoul.it.

Red banana chilli (romano pepper) schnitzel recipe

"We rescued two large cases of red banana chillies (some call them romano peppers) and I wanted to showcase the versatility of these delicious peppers," says Refettorio OzHarvest head chef, Jez Wick. Wick served them with spiced roast potatoes and a selection of condiments, including a green mango and fermented tomato (pudina) chutney and turmeric-laced yoghurt.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 red banana chillies (romano peppers)
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 eggs (or plant-based milk for vegan option)
• 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp black and white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tbsp ginger powder
• 1 tbsp black cumin seeds (or nigella seeds)
• 3 tbsp kaffir lime leaves, blitzed
• 2 tbsp nori powder (blitz up toasted nori sheets)
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 500ml neutral oil
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

METHOD

1. Heat your oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional).
2. Over an open flame (this can be done on your stovetop), blacken peppers by turning every few minutes, then place on a roasting tray. Put in the hot oven for 10 mins, turn and roast for another 10 mins. (If you don't have a gas burner, use oven only but up the time to 15 minutes each side.) Once ready, place in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and let cool slightly.
3. When cool enough to handle, peel skin from peppers and make a cut from the top knobby bit down to the bottom without cutting through completely. Pick out inside seeds and white parts. Place peppers on a tea towel to dry.
4. In three bowls, set up your station to crumb these little love hearts. Place flour in one bowl and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl whisk your eggs with a splash of water. In a third bowl, add panko crumbs and the remaining ingredients, saving some coriander to garnish. Mix well.
5. Heat the oil in a pan. Dip each pepper into the flour, shake shake, dip into the egg and finally the spiced panko mix. Set aside until ready to fry. Place gently in the hot oil and fry each side for 10 mins and then drain on a tea towel. Garnish with remaining coriander, season with sea salt, serve with lime wedges and BOOM!

Serves 4

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