From his restaurants and cookbooks to his philanthropic efforts, everything that Mario Batali has achieved is bigger, bolder and more recognizable.
Mario Batali
Raised in Seattle, Mario attended high school in Madrid and studied the golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University. Soon after graduating, Mario enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu in London, his first formal culinary training. But after a few short months, he withdrew to apprentice with London’s legendary chef Marco Pierre White. During three years of intense culinary training in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne (population 200), Mario learned the essential skills to return to his native US eager to plant his orange-clad foot firmly on the checkered-tablecloth Italian restaurant establishment.
After having gained momentum on the New York restaurant scene at beloved neighborhood joints including Rocco’s and Po, Mario teamed up with Joe Bastianich to open Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca on Waverly Place in 1998. There he realized his cooking philosophy: use the best local ingredients as simply as possible and serve them with flourish and joy. As a Tuscan cooks in Chianti, as a Neapolitan cooks on the Amalfi coast, as a Sicilian cooks in Pantelleria, at Babbo Mario cooked as an Italian might in the Hudson Valley region.
Today, Mario is one of the most recognized and respected chefs worldwide. He and Joe have created a successful restaurant and culinary empire that spans New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Singapore.
Among his many accolades, Mario was named “Man of the Year” in the chef category by GQ Magazine in 1999. In 2002, he won the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef: New York City” award, and in 2005 the James Beard Foundation awarded Mario the designation “Outstanding Chef of the Year.” Mario was also a recipient of the 2001 D’Artagnan Cervena “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America,” a prestigious food industry lifetime achievement award.
Mario is also the author of eleven cookbooks including the James Beard Award Winning, Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes (ecco 2005); New York Times Bestseller Mario Batali Italian Grill (ecco 2007); Molto Batali: Simple Family Meals form My Home to Yours (ecco 2011); AMERICA Farm to Table (Grand Central Life & Style 2014). In his most recent cookbook, Mario Batali: BIG American Cookbook: 250 Favorite Recipes from Across the USA (Grand Central Life & Style 2016), Mario takes a deep dive into American Regional cooking by featuring simple and delicious recipes like San Diego fish tacos and Boston Cream Pie.
In 2008, Mario founded the Mario Batali Foundation with the mission of feeding, protecting educating and empowering children.
10 restaurants in New York • 4 restaurants in Las Vegas • 4 restaurants in California • 2 restaurants in Singapore • 2 Italian markets in New York • 1 Italian market in Chicago • 2 restaurants in Connecticut. and counting…
1997
Molto Mario premiers on Food Network
1998
Mario and Joe open Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca. Soon thereafter, the restaurant receives three stars from New York Times Restaurant Critic Ruth Reichl
2002
The James Beard Foundation names Mario Best Chef New York City
2004
Frank Bruni of the New York Times re-reviews Babbo and affirms its three-star status
2005
Mario, Joe and Mark Ladner open Del Posto in partnership with Lidia Bastianich
The James Beard Foundation named Mario Best Chef in America
2006
The James Beard Foundation calls Molto Italiano Best International Cookbook of the Year
2007
With partner Nancy Silverton, Mario opens instant-hits Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles
Mario opens two restaurants in the Venetian Hotel Casino in Las Vegas: Otto Enoteca Pizzeria and B&B Ristorante
2008
Mario opens Carnevino Italian Steakhouse in the Palazzo Hotel Casino
The James Beard Foundation names Mario Best Restaurateur of the Year
2009
In his first suburban venture, Mario opens Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, New York
2010
Mario and partners Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, and Oscar Farinetti open Eataly NYC, a 50,000 square-foot marketplace and eatery in Manhattan’s Flatiron District
Mario expands internationally with Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel Casino in Singapore
New York Times Restaurant Critic, Sam Sifton, awards Del Posto four stars, making it the first Italian restaurant in over 36 years to receive that honor
2011
Tarry Lodge Pizzeria e Enoteca opens in Westport, Connecticut
Del Posto is initiated into the prestigious Relais & Chateaux Guidebook, one of only 5 New York restaurants with that distinction
Mario and co-hosts Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz, and Michael Symon launch The Chew on ABC daytime
2013
Mario opens Chi Spacca, a meat-centric restaurant in Los Angeles with Chef Chad Colby at the helm
Mario opens Eataly Chicago, the second U.S. outpost of the hugely successful artisanal food and wine marketplace, at 63,000 sq. ft in the famed Michigan Avenue district
Mario, along with business partner Joe Bastianich, open their fourth restaurant in Las Vegas, B&B Burger & Beer
2014
Mario and co-author Jim Webster released AMERICA Farm to Table (Grand Central Life & Style), which celebrates farmers and looks at their top products in fourteen states across America.
2015
Mario opens Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca on Boston’s Fan Pier in the city’s waterfront Innovation District.
2016
Mario opens Eataly Downtown at World Trade Center Tower 4.
Mario’s newest cookbook, Mario Batali BIG American Cookbook (Grand Central Life & Style) hit bookshelves nationwide. The following month, it made the New York Times’ Best Seller list!
Mario opens Eataly Boston
