After the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes in the region, which caused significant damage to millions of pounds' worth of Parmigiano-Reggiano, Bottura worked with local producers to raise awareness of the situation. As part of these efforts, he developed a recipe for a risotto variation of the Roman pasta dish cacio e pepe (traditionally made with a sheep's cheese like Pecorino Romano) using broken wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano. He also took part in the Crave International Food festival in Sydney in October and played the leading role in a festival in Taiwan, La Festa di Chef Massimo Bottura.