Chef Lidia Shares Her Passions – Food & Family

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By Mary Ann Bourbeau

When she was 14 years old, Lidia Bastianich lied about her age so she could get a job in Walken’s Bakery in Astoria, Queens, which was owned by the parents of actor Christopher Walken.
“I loved cooking and baking, and I would help the bakers decorate the cakes,” she said. “Chris was a delivery boy and we used to work together delivering wedding cakes. A few times, he stopped the car short and the cake would topple over. His father would blow his top because he had to reassemble the cake.”
This is one of the many stories from her life that Bastianich may tell during a Nov. 4 appearance at the Count Basie Theatre during “An Intimate Conversation with Lidia Bastianich.” The Emmy-winning host of Public Television’s “Lidia’s Kitchen” and “Lidia’s Italy” will be interviewed on stage by Vic Rallo, host of PBS’s “Eat Drink Italy” and owner of Birravino in Red Bank and Undici in Rumson. The evening will also include a Q&A session.
“People always want to know about my childhood, how I escaped during World War II and lived in a refugee camp,” she said. “They also want to know where my passion for cooking comes from. It will be a discussion with Lidia, if you will.”
Bastianich was born in Pula, a region that was once part of Italy but became Communist after a takeover of Yugoslavia. As a child, she and her family left their homeland and lived as refugees in Trieste, Italy, for two years before immigrating to the United States. The family lived in North Bergen before settling in Queens. Her love of food dates back to her childhood in Italy, long before she took the bakery job.
“My connection with food started way back with my grandmother,” she said. “She was very special. She raised ducks, rabbits, pigs and goats. She made olive oil and prosciutto, and she made wine. I was involved in the growing and preserving of food and all the smells that went with it. I continued cooking so I could remember the smells from back then and feel comfortable like I did with my grandmother.”
Lidia Matticchio married Felice Bastianich and together they had two children, Joe and Tanya. The couple opened two restaurants in Queens and began gaining the attention of local critics once Lidia started giving cooking demonstrations. In 1981, they sold the two Queens locations and opened Felidia, their flagship restaurant in Manhattan. In 1993, Julia Child invited Bastianich as a guest on her Public Television show, which gave her the confidence to expand. She divorced Felice, and their son Joe opened his own restaurant to critical acclaim. Their daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, earned a Ph.D. in art history and together with her mother and a partner, opened an upscale travel company focusing on Italian food, wine and art.
She also partners with her mother and brother in several of the family’s restaurants in New York, Kansas City and Pittsburgh.
“It’s not always easy, but it’s a great honor to work with my children and to share with them what I love to do,” Bastianich said.
The Emmy Award-winning host of Public Television’s “Lidia’s Kitchen” and “Lidia’s Italy” has successfully brought together her two passions in life – food and family. Her new cookbook, co- written with her daughter, is called, “Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to be a Great Italian Cook,” a comprehensive Italian cookbook with more than 400 recipes. The book, which was released this month, was published in conjunction with Bastianich’s new PBS series of the same name, also premiering this month.
“The cookbook teaches you how to select products and how to substitute ingredients to make a recipe your own,” she said. “It also has an extensive glossary. I see it as more of a reference book.”
There are classic dishes such as Risotto alla Milanese and Tagliatelle with Wild Mushroom Sauce, and some of Bastianich’s original recipes, including Bread and Prune Gnocchi and Beet Ravioli in Poppy Seed Sauce.
“In the new show, I will be cooking recipes from my latest book,” she said. “People will learn not only my technique but my philosophies.”
Bastianich will also host a PBS Christmas special on December 11, featuring celebrities like Christopher Walken, Rita Moreno, Ann Curry and Padma Lakshmi cooking holiday foods of their own ethnicities.
“We all revert to our roots when the holidays come,” she said. “They incorporate their favorite dishes into the show.” In addition to restaurants, books and television, Bastianich along with her children has branched out into many other areas, including a line of pasta and sauces, and dinnerware and cookware. She is the founder and president of Tavola Productions, an entertainment company.
In 2010, she and her son, along with chefs Mario Batali and Oscar Farinetti, opened Eataly, a 50,000- square-foot artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in New York City. She produces award-winning wines at Bastianich Vineyards in Italy and was inspired by her grandchildren to write several children’s books. If that’s not enough, she has personally prepared meals for two popes.
“I was very uptight at first, but at the end of the day, I just cooked like I do at home,” she said.
Bastianich still lives in Queens with her 95-year-old mother, not far from the neighborhood where she was raised.
“I have my friends, my little yard and my garden, and my daughter lives a block away,” she said. “I’m comfortable there.”
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show on Nov. 4 are $20-$85. For more information, visit www.countbasietheatre.com
Arts and Entertainment writer Mary Ann Bourbeau can be reached at mbourbeau@tworivertimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnBourbeau.