Lara Gilmore hosts Casa Maria Luigia
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When Lara Gilmore told me she and her husband Massimo Bottura were opening a B&B, I knew it was going to be amazing. Massimo is the world’s chef extraordinaire, and together with Lara, they are a dynamic duo with a preternatural instincts for art, design and hospitality. They funneled their energy andn love into Casa Maria Luigia, a luxury bed-and-breakfast in the Modena countryside.
What is it about Casa Maria Luigia that keeps me coming back? (I stayed there five times). I sat down with Lara to talk about what it takes to make a home away from home.

In This Episode
[01:15] Lara Gilmore and Massimo Bottura
[07:33] Creating Casa Maria Luigia
[16:02] Organic Gardening and Community Kitch
[29:12] Merenda Estiva- the Emilia-Romagna breakfast
[33:05] Francescana at Maria Luigia – the dining experience
[45:20] Biking Modena and Emilia Romagna
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Massimo, Lara and Team Francescana in so many iterations. Conversations include a sit down with Massimo about feeding the world, about his personal origin story, a chat with Lara about Il Tortellante about how tortellini makes the world a better place, and I’ve interviewed two of Massimo’s apostles and super star chefs Jessica Rosval on the best Modena breakfast and Karime Lopez on Osteria Gucci.
