Gucci continues to remind us that every touchpoint is an opportunity to build a narrative around the brand with the house’s latest introduction, the ‘Emilia Burger’ to be served at Gucci’s Osteria da Massimo Bottura restaurant in Florence.
The burger is the brainchild of Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura who dreamt up the ‘Emilia Burger’ originally as a collaboration with American chain Shake Shack for the New York City Marathon several years ago. Named after Massimo’s home region of Italy Emilia-Romagna, he brought the burger to Karime López, chef de cuisine of Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, who recently earned her first Michelin star, and together they adapted it for the restaurant’s menu. The patty is made from Chianina meat and cotechino sausage, and then layered with Parmagiano Reggiano, salsa verde—translated as green sauce—and made with parsley, anchovies and capers, and mayonnaise laced with sweet, thick balsamic vinegar. All the flavors mixing in an umami harmony.
But the real harmony is between the marketing team and the rest of the house as they wisely recognized an opportunity good enough to taste. Turning to artist and photographer Max Siedentopf, the house decided to welcome The Emilia Burger with a bite full of digital juice including a film short and series of images built for our digital age. The piece is cheeky and fun, but most importantly is a lesson in leverage. Bottura and López may have thier own Michelin stars, but we give The Impression award to whoever thought of this tasty program.
