With a long TV career, numerous cookbooks to her name, and several restaurants, Lidia Bastianich
is one of America's most famous chefs. She has even cooked for popes! From being a refugee to
co-owning restaurants with her children, her transformation is seriously turning heads.
Lidia Bastianich was born Lidia Matticchio in 1947 in Pola,
Italy. The town is located on the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula,
which juts into the Adriatic Sea. At the time of her birth, the peninsula was part of Italy,
but months later, Istria was given to Yugoslavia as part of the World War II
peace treaty. The change meant falling behind the Iron Curtain and under communist rule. This
would prove to cause Bastianich's family a great amount of strife over the years.
Nevertheless, Bastianich has fond memories of her childhood. She spent a great deal of time
at her maternal grandparents' home. Although the family was poor, they used every resource
available to them, particularly when it came to food. Bastianich's grandparents grew most
of their own food, something young Lidia reveled in helping her grandmother prepare.
In her bio for the National Italian American Foundation,
Bastianich recalled her early years in Pola:
"While life seemed great for me at the time, what I didn't know as a child was how communism
took away almost everything my family stood for. [...] Communism changed our last name.
We couldn't speak our native Italian language. They took away our religion;
I even had to be baptized in secret! Communism threatened my dad's business."
The oppression culminated in the family's decision to flee
in 1956. They escaped to Trieste, Italy, and spent the next two years in a refugee camp.
"We were sort of captured behind as ethnic Italians. Had to escape back into Italy,
ultimately went to a refugee -- political refugee camp."
In 1958, the family received a sponsorship from Catholic Charities to move to America.
Although she was just 12 years old at the time, Bastianich still fondly
remembers the outpouring of support her family received upon landing in New York. She said,
"Complete strangers and nonprofit organizations were willing to give us a home, fill our cupboards
with food, and find my parents a job. There was so much generosity and to this day we have so much
gratitude for the people and organizations that helped us when we most needed it."
Lidia Bastianich's time at her grandparents' home introduced her to all things food at a very young
age. From grinding wheat and growing fruits and vegetables to raising animals and making olive
oil, there were few culinary tasks the family didn't undertake. Bastianich told The Pitch,
"My grandmother raised, made, cured all the food for everyone in the family.
That's what they did every day, tending to the pigs, feeding the chickens.
So I was in that kingdom of food [...] I was connected to food at a very early age."
Because of the location of Bastianich's homeland and its political history,
the region's food cultures included a vast array of Mediterranean flavors. Even after leaving Pola,
those flavors stayed with her, as did her memories of her grandmother. Bastianich said,
"I was still connected to her through food.
I cooked what I remembered how to cook. That's my passion and connection."
The aspiring chef got more formal culinary training after arriving in Trieste.
During her two years there, Bastianich spent time with her great aunt, who worked as a personal
chef. Young Lidia worked in her aunt's kitchen and explored the city's food market with her.
She also worked in her school's kitchen in exchange for tuition.
Believe it or not, Lidia Bastianich and Christopher Walken,
two masters of their respective arts, have known each other since they were teenagers.
Bastianich's first job after immigrating to America was at Walken's Bake Shop in Astoria,
Queens. The owner and operator of the establishment had a son named Christopher,
who grew up to become the Academy Award winning actor we all know and love.
The two have remained in touch throughout the decades, and Bastianich has even invited her
former coworker onto her television shows. On her "Home for the Holidays" special,
Bastianich and Walken cooked a scallop dish that the chef named "Scallops A La
Walken." On another occasion, Anthony Bourdain joined the pair for a Christmas Eve dinner.
The trio prepared La Vigilia, a Southern Italian version of the Feast of the Seven Fishes.
By 1971, Lidia Bastianich was ready to open her own restaurant. That year she and her
husband Felice opened a small Italian eatery in Queens called Buonavia, which translates to
"good road." But Bastianich did not work as the restaurant's head chef. Knowing that Americans
expected Italian-American food as opposed to her more traditional northern Italian cuisine,
Bastianich hired an outside chef. She worked as the restaurant's sous chef,
which allowed her to learn American-style Italian cooking.
"We loved food, and we treated it almost like a home. And maybe that's why it was so successful."
Buonavia was such a success that she and Felice had to expand the restaurant twice.
In 1973, the couple opened a second restaurant nearby.
Bastianich's entrepreneurial success enabled her to dream bigger. The couple sold both of
their establishments just a few years later to raise money for a new venture:
a Manhattan restaurant. In 1981, that dream became a reality when Felidia opened its doors.
It quickly garnered rave reviews, including a three-star rating from “The New York Times”.
Just a day into the new venture, one of the most powerful and influential people in the
food world strolled into Felidia: Julia Child. Bastianich told WGBH,
"She came for the risotto specifically. I cooked the risotto and I was kind of nervous, of course."
"I don't think I really realized the magnitude. You know sometimes, ignorance is bliss? So it was
very comfortable. You know, I felt like she was my friend. You know, I watched her on television."
Bastianich didn't know it at the time, but this would be the start of a great
friendship and pivotal to her career. Child was apparently so impressed by
the food that she asked Bastianich to teach her how to make risotto. A few years later,
Child invited Bastianich to appear on two episodes of her “Master Chef” series.
Inspired by the experience with her mentor, Bastianich debuted her own cooking show, "Lidia's
Italian Table," in 1998, and has since become one of the most prominent chefs on television.
Lidia Bastianich has built a culinary empire that rivals any other in the country.
Bastianich currently owns two restaurants: Becco in New York City and Lidia's Kansas City.
Her most recent business venture, however, is Eataly. Opened in the Flatiron District
of Manhattan in 2010, the 50,000-square-foot Italian marketplace features six restaurants,
five takeaway counters, two coffee bars, a Nutella bar, a fresh pasta counter, bakery,
gelato counter, and more. It has proven to be so successful that Bastianich and her partners have
since opened several more locations across the country, including a second spot in New York,
as well as Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Dallas.
Between openings, Bastianich has found time to launch her own line of pastas and sauces
and to publish 13 cookbooks, the most recent of which,
"Felidia," includes recipes from her famed restaurant. She has also penned the memoir
"My American Dream," which details her journey as a child to her new homeland.
And she has been a mainstay on television, starring in and producing
a number of cooking shows, including her most recent, "Lidia's Kitchen."
Cooking was always a family affair for Lidia Bastianich. That has continued to this day
for the celebrated chef, who has partnered with her two children in several business ventures.
Lidia's son Joe is another successful restaurateur, and together, the mother-and-son own
Becco, a casual Italian restaurant opened in 1993. They have also partnered together for Eataly.
Not to be outdone by her brother, Lidia's daughter Tanya also co-owns a restaurant with her mother,
Lidia's Kansas City. Tanya is also a partner at Tavola Productions,
the company responsible for producing all of Lidia's cooking shows.
Not only does Lidia clearly enjoy working with her children,
she credits much of her success to them. She told “Family Business Magazine,”
"I wouldn't have grown as much had my children not come in with their new energies. I love working
with my children as adults. I took it as a great honor that they saw what I started and wanted to
continue. They have different strengths, and it was up to me to incorporate them and let
them learn what I had done thus far. Then I let them grow — and they have, each on their own."
Lidia Bastianich's hard work has been recognized and then some. In 1999, the James Beard Foundation
named Bastianich one of the Best Chefs in America. She had previously been nominated five times.
Since then, the popular chef has been nominated for — and won — numerous James Beard Awards.
She has also won the prestigious Artusi Prize, as well as the Master of the Aesthetics of Gastronomy
Award from the Culinary Institute of America, just to name a few of her cooking accolades.
For her work in front of the camera, Bastianich has received the highest award in the television
industry: In both 2013 and 2018, she won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Culinary Host, first
for "Lidia's Italy" and then "Lidia's Kitchen." She and Bobby Flay are the only two people to
win the award twice. Her TV job has also garnered her Telly, Taste, and New York Festivals Awards.
Being a public figure means facing down at least a few controversies,
and Lidia Bastianich has had her share of bad publicity over the past few years.
Most notably, in 2011, Bastianich was accused of employing an Italian chef without pay.
In a lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed that Bastianich hired her as a home attendant
under the guise of promising her work in a restaurant. Instead,
she allegedly received no culinary experience and no paycheck for six years. Although the case was
originally thrown out, an appellate court found that Bastianich should have paid her employee.
On more than one additional occasion, she and her partners have agreed to
multi-million-dollar settlements stemming from lawsuits filed by restaurant employees.
In each case, staff claimed that the owners withheld pay.
Most celebrity chefs can rattle off a list of pretty impressive people they have cooked for.
But you'll be hard pressed to find one that has prepared a meal for a pope.
Lidia Bastianich has cooked for two of them.
In 2008, she was asked to cook for Pope Benedict XVI. She told “Catholic News Agency,”
"I didn't believe it was going to happen. I remember I laughed and said,
sure, Monsignor, I would love to, but is that a reality?"
It was a reality, and Bastianich wound up cooking two dinners for Benedict.
The first night's menu included string bean salad, ravioli,
risotto, whole roasted striped bass, and an apple strudel dessert. For the second night,
the pope's birthday, Bastianich prepared a beef goulash and cake for dessert.
"When he was finished, I asked him, I said, 'Did you enjoy?' He said, 'You know,
it was very good. Those were the flavors of my mother.' So I kind of got him."
Just a few years later, in 2015, Bastianich had the honor of cooking for a second pope.
She prepared all of Pope Francis' meals during his visit to New York.
Meals included dishes such as house-made burrata, steamed lobster, capon soup, veal medallions,
ravioli, roasted striped bass, concord grape sorbet, and angel food cake.
Lidia Bastianich has made sure to share her good fortune.
Inspired by those who helped her and her family many years ago,
the former refugee has made a point of aiding those in a similar position. She told “The Pitch,”
"Along the way, a lot of people helped us. When I was in camp there was a woman who helped
pay for my schooling. When we moved here, Catholic Services found us a place to live.
I know what it means, and I appreciate it. So when I see a need someplace, I feel it."
Bastianich became the United Nations Association of the USA's first celebrity champion for refugee
youth education in 2018. In her role, she supports and raises funds for Adopt-A-Future,
a campaign that works to provide refugee children with an education.
Bastianich has also worked extensively with the United Nations Development Fund for Women,
as the face of the "Say No to Violence Against Women" campaign.
She has worked to raise awareness about female refugees in war-torn Kosovo,
and helped establish the International Alert Millennium Peace Prize for Women.
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