Faces of America » Mario Batali

Episode 1: Our American Stories

Webmaster — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:00:52 +0000

Our American Stories explores the dynamic and shifting relationship America had with her new immigrants in the 20th century. World war tore apart families and sundered the fabric of many lives, but America beckoned and millions came. Yet, America was an ambivalent host. At its best, a place of refuge and salvation, as for film director Mike Nichols whose entire family escaped Nazi Germany. At its worst, a country that would imprison two generations of Japanese Americans, like the ancestors of Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. Along the way, we’ll discover the buoyant American optimism that shaped chance – as in a single encounter that changed cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s life forever – to pave the road to success.

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Going back to Italy

Webmaster — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:41:56 +0000

Mario Batali talks about moving back to Italy as a young man to learn how to cook Italian food, and his continuing connection to his Italian heritage. View Mario Batali’s full profile.

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A grandmother’s influence

Webmaster — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:27:42 +0000

Mario Batali reminisces about his grandmother, her influence on his life as a chef, and his first cooking experiences. View Mario Batali’s full profile.

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Growing up Italian in Washington state

Webmaster — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:19:45 +0000

Mario Batali relates stories of Italian ancestry within his family, and what it was like to grow up as the grandson of Italian immigrants in Washington state. View Mario Batali’s full profile.

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Mario Batali

Webmaster — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:38:38 +0000

(Chef)

Mario Batali is one of the country’s most celebrated chefs. He has opened six highly successful restaurants in New York City, including Esca, Del Posto and his flagship Greenwich Village establishment, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca. Batali is a familiar television personality, from his Food Network cooking show, Molto Mario, to his recent PBS series, Spain…On the Road Again, and his appearances as a competitor on Iron Chef. Among his many accolades, Mario was named GQ Magazine’s 1999 “Man of the Year” in the chef category and, in 2002 and 2005 respectively, he won James Beard Foundation awards for “Best Chef: New York City” and “Outstanding Chef of the Year.” Mario is also a recipient of the 2001 D’Artagnan Cervena prestigious lifetime achievement award, “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America.”

Mario grew up in Seattle, Washington, one of three children born to Marilyn and Armandino Batali. He spent his childhood watching his grandmother make oxtail ravioli and other Italian specialties passed down in the family. Mario’s father, an engineer for Boeing for 30 years, opened a meat-curing shop in Seattle as a retirement project, attempting to recreate the Italian foods store Mario’s maternal great-great grandparents opened in 1903. The Batali family’s roots are almost entirely in the West. Mario’s great-great-grandfather left Italy for Butte, Montana in 1899 to work in the coal mines and eventually moved further west to settle in Seattle.