Antonio Park, a popular Montreal chef, is going to Rio next month to work wonders with leftovers. Park is the man behind Westmount’s eponymous, Park, and Lavanderia restaurants.
“So I’m a Korean Montrealer who grew up in Asunción, Buenos Aires, and Rio”
Invited by Italy’s famous Massimo Bottura, the two chefs met serving meals at a Montreal fundraiser.
Bottura, who says he is inspired by Pope Francis‘ advocacy on behalf of the poor, wanted to draw attention to an often overlooked aspect of the Olympics.
With more than 230 tons of food delivered to prepare and feed 60,000 athletes, coaches and staff daily, Bottura wanted to raise the issue of food waste, by putting the spotlight on what happens at a major event like the Olympics.
He took on a similar venture last year in the wake of Milan’s World Fair. He says he is doing it to educate people about food waste in solidarity with the 800 million people around the world who are hungry.
Antonio Park will have two days to prepare to feed 5,000 of the city’s less fortunate.
“I have no idea what I am getting… it all depends on the waste and what’s the over-order that they did over there.” Antonio Park told CBC News.
Antonio Park has an interesting connection to South American and Rio, as he describes on the website of his “Park” restaurant.
My life starts in South America: Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. That’s where I spent my childhood. My mom doesn’t want me to say that I’m born in Argentina; she wants me to say I’m Korean.
So I’m a Korean Montrealer who grew up in Asunción, Buenos Aires, and Rio. What I really am is a messed-up Latino with kimchi in his blood who is seriously in love with sashimi.
The food I make at Park is who I am as a person—a blend of the countries I’ve lived in and the cultures that formed me.
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