Massimo Bottura (pictured) and David Hertz want to produce 5,000 meals a day (Picture: Getty Images)

Leftover food from the Olympic Village in Rio is being cooked by a group of international chefs and then served to the city’s poor.

Massimo Bottura, who runs the three-Michelin-star restaurant Osteria Francescana, and Brazil’s David Hertz hope to produce 5,000 meals per day from food leftover by the 11,000 athletes staying in the Olympic Village.

The pair were inspired by a similar initiative, Refetterio Ambrosiano, that was launched in Italy last year. It brought 65 chefs from around the world together to cook meals using ingredients donated by the Milan World Expo.

(Picture: Dino Panato/Getty Images)

‘RefettoRio Gastromotiva is going to work only with ingredients that are about to be wasted, like ugly fruit and vegetables, or yoghurt that is going to be wasted in two days if you don’t buy it,’ Mr Hertz said.




‘We want to fight hunger and provide access to good food.’

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‘We want to fight hunger’ (Picture: Getty Images)

After the Olympics and Paralympics, Gastromotiva will continue as a ‘social business’, says Mr Hertz, which will provide vocational training for aspiring restaurant professionals.

Between 30 and 40% of all food produced globally is never eaten because it is spoiled after harvest and during transportation, or thrown away by shops and consumers.

According to the latest figures from the UN, 800million people go hungry every day.

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