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Lidia Giuliana Matticchio Bastianich (; born February 21, 1947) is an Italian-American
celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...
, television host, author, and restaurateur. Specializing in Italian and
Italian-American cuisine Italian-American cuisine is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans. As immigrants ...
, Bastianich has been a regular contributor to public television
cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Typ ...
s since 1998. In 2014, she launched her fifth television series, ''Lidia's Kitchen''. She owns or has owned several Italian restaurants in the U.S. in partnership with her daughter Tanya Bastianich Manuali and her son
Joe Bastianich Joseph Bastianich (born September 17, 1968) is an American restaurateur, winemaker, author, television personality, and musician. He, along with his mother and business partner Lidia Bastianich, co-owns thirty restaurants in four countries, incl ...
, including Felidia (founded with her ex-husband, Felice), Del Posto (closed and sold in 2021), and Becco in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
; Lidia's Pittsburgh in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
(closed in 2019); and Lidia's Kansas City in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
. She also is a partner in
Eataly Eataly is a chain of large format/footprint Italian marketplaces (food halls) comprising a variety of restaurants, food and beverage counters, bakery, retail items, and a cooking school. Eataly was founded by Oscar Farinetti, an entrepreneur for ...
locations in New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...
, Brazil.


Early life

Lidia Giuliana Matticchio Bastianich was born on February 21, 1947, in Pola,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
, just before the city was assigned to
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
in September 1947 (which is now part of
Istria County Istria County (; hr, Istarska županija; it, Regione istriana, "Istrian Region") is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula ( out of , or 89%). Administrative centers in the county are ...
,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
). She is the daughter of Erminia (1921–2021) and Vittorio Matticchio (1911–1980). Until 1956, she lived with her family in Yugoslavia, during which time the family Slavicized their surname from Matticchio to Motika. Bastianich fled to
Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...
, Italy, during the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus, with her brother Franco and her mother on the pretense of visiting their sick aunt Nina, who was a personal chef. Soon after, her father joined them in Trieste after he crossed the border into Italy at night. After Nina could only provide temporary shelter, Bastianich and her family became refugees at Risiera di San Sabba. According to Bastianich in a Public Television documentary, although a wealthy Triestine family hired her mother as a cook–housekeeper and her father as a limousine driver, they remained residents of the refugee camp. Two years later, their
displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
application was granted to emigrate from Italy to the United States. In 1958, Bastianich and her family reached the United States, arriving in
North Bergen, New Jersey North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...
, and later settling in
Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeas ...
in New York City. Bastianich gives credit for the family's new roots in the United States to their sponsor,
Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...
: Bastianich started working part-time at the age of 14, during which she briefly worked at the Astoria bakery, Walken's Bakery, owned by
Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...
's parents. After graduating from high school, she began to work full-time at a pizzeria on the upper west side of Manhattan. Although she and her family are nationally Italian, a DNA test indicated that her family is largely of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
an descent, due to the multiethnicity of
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...
. Concerning her identity, Lidia has stated: "I feel very Italian, but I do have some Slavic in me, and I relate to that as well; so that forms the mixture that is Lidia."


Career


From Queens to Manhattan (1971–1981)

In 1971, the Bastianiches opened their first restaurant, the tiny Buonavia, meaning "good road", in the Forest Hills section of
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, with Bastianich as its hostess. They created their restaurant's menu by copying recipes from the most popular and successful Italian restaurants of the day, and they hired the best Italian-American chef that they could find. After a brief break to deliver her second child Tanya, in 1972 Bastianich began training as the assistant chef at ''Buonavia'', gradually learning enough to cook popular Italian dishes on her own, after which the couple began adding traditional Istrian dishes to their menu. The success of ''Buonavia'' led to the opening of the second restaurant in Queens, ''Villa Secondo''. It was here that Bastianich gained the attention of local food critics and started to give live cooking demonstrations, a prelude to her future career as a television cooking show hostess. In 1981, Bastianich's father died, and the family sold their two Queens restaurants and purchased a small Manhattan brownstone containing a pre-existing restaurant on the East Side of Manhattan near the 59th Street Bridge to Queens. They converted it into what would eventually become their flagship restaurant, ''Felidia'' (a contraction of "Felice" and "Lidia"). After liquidating nearly every asset they had to cover $750,000 worth of renovations, Felidia finally opened to near-universal acclaim from their loyal following of food critics, including ''The New York Times'', which gave Felidia three stars. One of Felidia's chefs was not Italian. He was Puerto-Rico-born David Torres, known at the restaurant as Davide'. He died of throat cancer in 1996.


Expansion

Although Lidia and Felice sent their two children to college without expectations that either would go into the restaurant business, Joseph, who had frequently done odd jobs for his parents at Felidia, gave up his newly launched career as a
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...
bond trader A trader is a person, firm, or entity in finance who buys and sells financial instruments, such as forex, cryptocurrencies, stocks, bonds, commodities, derivatives, and mutual funds in the capacity of agent, hedger, arbitrageur, or speculator. ...
and in 1993 convinced his parents to partner with him to open ''Becco'' (Italian for "peck, nibble, savor") in the Theater District in Manhattan. Like ''Felidia'', ''Becco'' was an immediate success and led to the opening of additional restaurants outside New York City, including ''Lidia's Kansas City'' in 1998, and ''Lidia's Pittsburgh'' in 2001. In 1993,
Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...
invited Bastianich to tape an episode of her Public Television series ''Julia Child: Cooking With Master Chefs'', which featured acclaimed chefs from around the U.S., preparing dishes in their own home kitchens. The guest appearance gave Bastianich confidence and determination to expand the Bastianich family's own commercial interests. By the late 1990s, Bastianich's restaurants had evolved into a truly family-owned and operated enterprise. Bastianich's mother, Erminia Motika, maintained the large garden behind the family home, from which Bastianich chose ingredients to use in recipe development. Joe was the chief
sommelier A sommelier ( or or ; ), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the wine steward in fin ...
of the restaurant group, in addition to branching out into his own restaurant line. Bastianich's daughter Tanya Bastianich Manuali used her PhD in Italian art history as the foundation for a travel agency partnership with her mother called ''Esperienze Italiane'', through which Tanya and friend Shelly Burgess Nicotra (Executive Producer of Bastianich's television series and head of PR at Lidia's Italy) offered tours throughout Italy. Tanya's husband, attorney Corrado Manuali, became the restaurant group's chief legal counsel. In 2010, Bastianich and her son partnered with Oscar Farinetti to open
Eataly Eataly is a chain of large format/footprint Italian marketplaces (food halls) comprising a variety of restaurants, food and beverage counters, bakery, retail items, and a cooking school. Eataly was founded by Oscar Farinetti, an entrepreneur for ...
, a food emporium in Manhattan that is devoted to the food and culinary traditions of Italy. Bastianich offers culinary and gastronomy classes to the public at Eataly's school, La Scuola. Eataly's motto is "We sell what we cook, and we cook what we sell". Eataly is now in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
and
São Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...
. They opened a second store in New York at the World Trade Center in Manhattan in 2016 and another one in Boston the same year. Recent openings include Eataly in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
in 2017, in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
in 2018, and in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
in 2019. The fall of 2010 also marked the debut of Lidia's Kitchen, an exclusive line of commercial cookware, and serving ware for QVC. Along with her daughter Tanya, and son-in-law Corrado Manuali, Bastianich launched Nonna Foods as a platform to distribute an array of both existing and new LIDIA'S food products. Nonna Foods has 11 varieties of sauces (including two USDA Certified Organic sauces) available nationwide. Together with her son Joseph, Bastianich produces award-winning wines at Bastianich Vineyard in
Friuli Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...
and La Mozza Vineyard in
Maremma The Maremma (, ; from Latin , "maritime and) is a coastal area of western central Italy, bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea. It includes much of south-western Tuscany and part of northern Lazio. It was formerly mostly marshland, often malarial, bu ...
, Italy.


Television (1998–present)

In 1998, Public Television offered Bastianich her own television series which became ''Lidia's Italian Table''. It established her as a fixture in the network's line-up of cooking shows. Since then she has hosted additional public television series, including ''Lidia's Family Table'', ''Lidia's Italy'', ''Lidia's Italy in America'', and ''Lidia's Kitchen''. She also hosted a series of hour-long Public Television specials called ''Lidia Celebrates America'', which premiered in 2011 with ''Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday Tables & Traditions''. In the series, Bastianich celebrates the diversity of cultures across the United States and explores the American immigrant experience. The following special, ''Lidia Celebrates America: Weddings – Something Borrowed, Something New'', aired in 2012; ''Lidia Celebrates America: Freedom & Independence'' in 2013; ''Lidia Celebrates America: Life's Milestones'' in 2013; ''Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday Tables and Traditions'' in 2015; ''Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday for Heroes'' in 2016; ''Lidia Celebrates America: Homegrown Heroes'' in 2017, and ''Lidia Celebrates America: A Heartland Holiday Feast'' in 2018, and ''Lidia Celebrates America: The Return of the Artisans'' in 2019 and "Lidia Celebrates America: Overcoming the Odds" in 2021. Bastianich ends each episode of her show with an invitation to join her and her family for a meal, ''Tutti a tavola a mangiare!'' (Italian for "Everyone to the table to eat"). For the 2010 holiday season, her new television production company, Tavola Productions, created an animated holiday children's special for Public Television "Lidia's Christmas Kitchen: Nonna Tell Me a Story" to go along with the book by the same title that was written by Bastianich. In 2013, Bastianich returned to Public Television with Lidia's Kitchen, a 26-part series produced by Tavola Productions. The tenth season premiered in October 2022. Among Bastianich's television show appearances, she participated as a celebrity judge on
MasterChef USA ''MasterChef USA'' is an American competitive cooking show that aired on PBS from 2000 to 2001. The series was hosted by Gary Rhodes. The series format was based directly on BBC's ''MasterChef'', which used Rhodes as host during 2001. The show ...
, an adaptation of the BBC
MasterChef (UK TV series) ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the United Kingdom, UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and wa ...
in 2000. Her son, Joseph Bastianich, would later go on to star as a celebrity judge on the
Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...
version of
MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...
. Bastianich has also appeared on the Italian television show Junior MasterChef Italia in 2014 and 2015 for Season 1 and Season 2. In 2016 and 2017, she was a judge for the Italian television show, La Prova del Cuoco. In 2020, alongside son Joe Bastianich and Antonino Cannavacciuolo, she was a judge on the cooking competition show on Sky, Family Food Fight. In 2021 Bastianich co-starred along with Italian chef Anna Moroni in Senti the fame! Nonna pensaci tu which aired on Discovery+ in Italy.


Books (1990–present)

Bastianich has authored several cookbooks to accompany her television series: * ''La Cucina di Lidia'' * ''Lidia's Family Table'' * ''Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen'' * ''Lidia's Italian Table'' * ''Lidia's Italy'' * ''Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy'' * ''Lidia's Italy in America'' * ''Lidia's Favorite Recipes'' * ''Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking'' * ''Nonna Tell Me A Story'' * ''Nonna's Birthday Surprise'' * ''Lidia's Egg-Citing Farm Adventure'' * ''Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine'' * ''Lidia's Celebrate Like an Italian'' * ''My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food'' * ''Felidia, Recipes from My Flagship Restaurant'' * "Lidia's a Pot, a Pan, and a Bowl: Simple Recipes for Perfect Meals


Awards and honors

* (1987) Recipient of Woman of the Year/Innovation Award, Restaurant Category, Women's Institute of the Center for Food and Hotel Management * (1993) Nominated for "Best Chef in New York" by the James Beard Foundation; Felidia * (1994) Nominated for "Best Chef in New York" by the James Beard Foundation; Felidia * (1996) Nominated for "Best Chef in New York" by the James Beard Foundation; Felidia * (1996) Recipient of "Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America" James Beard Award * (1997) Nominated for "Best Chef in New York" by the James Beard Foundation; Felidia * (1998) Nominated for "Best Chef in New York" by the James Beard Foundation; Felidia * (1999) Named "Best Chef in New York" by the James Beard Foundation * (2001) Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen wins International Association Culinary Professionals (IACP) cookbook Award in "Chefs and restaurants" category * (2002) Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen nominated for James Beard Award in "Best National Television Cooking Show or Special" category * (2002) Named "Best Outstanding Chef" by the James Beard Foundation * (2002) Named "The First Lady of Italian Cuisine and Restaurants in the United States" by Senator George Onorato * (2007) Lidia's Family Table nominated for James Beard Award in "National Television Food Show" category * (2008) Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most nominated for James Beard Award in "International Book" category * (2008) Lidia's Italy nominated for Emmy Award * (2009) Lidia's Italy named "Best Cooking Show" by the James Beard Foundation * (2010) Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy nominated for James Beard Award in "International Book" category * (2011) Lidia Celebrates America receives highest honor of Silver Award for in Film/Video Silver Winners category for the 32nd Annual Telly Awards * (2012) Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday Tables & Traditions nominated for "Outstanding Documentary" by the James Beard Foundation * (2013) Wins Emmy for "Outstanding Culinary Host" * (2013) Inducted into Culinary Hall of Fame * (2013) Lidia Celebrates America: Something Borrowed Something New receives New York Festivals Award * (2014) Three Tavola productions- Lidia's Kitchen, Lidia Celebrates America, and Amy Thielen's Heartland Table on the Food Network nominated for a James Beard Award * (2014) Lidia Celebrates America: Freedom and Independence receives Telly Award * (2014) Lidia Celebrates America nominated for a Rockie Award at Banff World Media Festival in "Lifestyle" category * (2016) Lidia Celebrates America: Home for the Holidays wins "Best Special" by the James Beard Foundation * (2016) Lidia Celebrates America: Home for the Holidays named "Best Food Program" at Taste Awards * (2017) Nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in "Outstanding Culinary Host" category * (2017) Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday for Heroes wins James Beard Award for "Best Special" * (2017) Recipient of the StellaRe Prize by the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation * (2018) Wins Daytime Emmy Award in "Outstanding Culinary Host" category * (2018) Lidia's Kitchen nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in "Best Culinary Program" category * (2018) Lidia Celebrates America: Homegrown Heroes wins James Beard Award for "Best Special" * (2018) Lidia Celebrates America: Home Grown Heroes recipient of Gold Telly Award in "General Documentary: Individual" category * (2019) Lidia's Kitchen nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in "Outstanding Culinary Program" category * (2019) Recipient of Master of the Aesthetics of Gastronomy Award from Culinary Institute of America * (2019) Awarded the Premio Artusi by the Scientific Committee of Casa Artusi * (2022) American Public Television Silver Award


Other awards and honors

* (1996) Recipient of Distinguished Service Award and recognized for "Outstanding contribution and dedicated service to the Italian-American Community" by the Italian Government * (1999) Honored as "Commendatore" of the Republic of Italy * (2000) Golden Whisk Award by Women Chefs and Restaurateurs * (2002) "La Bellisima America" Award from Italian American Museum * (2007) Honors Award from Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) * (2007) Grand Marshal of the Columbus Day Parade in New York City * (2008) Chef for Papal Celebration; Pope Benedict XVI during visit to New York City * (2008) Recipient of Bpeace's first-ever Economic Impact Award * (2008) Honored as Commander ("Commendatore") by the then
President of Italy The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...
,
Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
* (2008) Guest at Dinner honoring Italian Prime Minister at the White House; Washington * (2009) Honoree at Great Chefs event to benefit Greenwich Health at Greenwich Hospital * (2009) National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) Special Achievement Award for humanitarian service * (2010) Bastianich family honored by the National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW) for their outstanding contributions to Italian culture in America. * (2012) Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award at Healthcare Chaplaincy Wholeness of Life Awards Dinner * (2013) Honored at The Philips Collection Annual Gala * (2015) Chef for Papal Celebration; Pope Francis during visit to New York City * (2015) Italian Talent Award by The Italian Talent Association * (2015) Augie Award at the Annual Culinary Institute of America Leadership Awards * (2016) Lifetime Achievement Award from Women with Wings and Wisdom * (2016) Spirit Award from Kansas City Women in Film and Television * (2016) Honored at Les Dames d'Escoffier Fundraiser Gala; Vancouver * (2017) Queens Ambassador Awards from Community News Group * (2017) Recipient of Grand Dame Award by the Les Dames D' Escoffier International * (2017) Recipient of StellaRe Prize by the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation * (2018) Celebrity Champion for "Adopt-A-Future" campaign by UNA-USA/The UN Refugee Agency * (2018) Bastianich Family recipient of Award from Italian Heritage & Culture Committee of New York, Inc. (IHCC-NY, Inc.) * (2018) Honored at annual Cardinal's Christmas Luncheon and recipient of the Christmas Angel Award * (2018) Recipient of The One America Award for Entrepreneurship by NIAF * (2019) Honored at Histria Association of Women 30th Anniversary Dinner * (2019) Honored at the 15th Annual Hamptons Happening Event by the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation * (2019) Keynote Speaker at Fifth Annual Food Lab Conference at Stony Brook Southampton * (2019) Recipient of Spirit of Arrupe Award from Loyola University Chicago * (2019) Honored at JRS/USA 39th Anniversary Dinner * (2019) Guest of honor at Luncheon honoring women in culinary world hosted by Les Dames d' Escoffier, Austin Chapter & Austin Food & Wine Alliance * (2020) Hosted fundraising event at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Academy * (2020) Honored by The Stamford Museum & Nature Center at Annual charity Event 'An Evening with Lidia Bastianich' * (2020) Special guest at Long Island 'Taste the Greats' event


Personal life

At her sweet sixteen birthday party, she was introduced to her future husband, Felice "Felix" Bastianich, a fellow Istrian Italian immigrant and restaurant worker from
Labin Labin (Italian/ Istriot: Albona) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, with a town population of 5,806 (2021) and 10,424 in the greater municipality (which also includes the small towns of Rabac and Vinež, as well as a number of smaller villages) ...
, on the eastern coast of
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...
,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
. The couple married in 1966 and Lidia gave birth to their son, Joe, in 1968. Their second child, Tanya, was born in 1972. After many disagreements about the direction their entrepreneurial and personal lives had taken — most notably the pace of the expansion and character of their business — Lidia and Felice divorced in 1998. Bastianich continued expanding her business while Felice transferred his shares in the business to their two children. He died on December 12, 2010. Bastianich lives in Douglaston, Queens; she lived with her mother, Erminia Motika, until her death in February 2021. Bastianich's own kitchen has served as the stage set for four of her television series, and the garden that Erminia maintained provided many of the ingredients featured in the shows. Erminia, who answered to "grandma," frequently served as a
sous-chef A sous-chef is a chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the ...
in various episodes of the television series.
Joe Bastianich Joseph Bastianich (born September 17, 1968) is an American restaurateur, winemaker, author, television personality, and musician. He, along with his mother and business partner Lidia Bastianich, co-owns thirty restaurants in four countries, incl ...
occasionally appears in his mother's series to offer wine expertise. He, his wife Deanna, and their three children live in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Tanya Bastianich Manuali, with her husband Corrado Manuali and their two children, lived just a few blocks away from her mother. Tanya is integrally involved in the production of Lidia's public television series as an owner and Executive Producer of Tavola Productions and is active daily in the family restaurant business. In an interview by American Public Television, Bastianich spoke of how important it is for her to pass on family traditions:


Controversy

In 2011, Bastianich was accused of keeping an indentured servant. The subsequent lawsuit was tossed out in 2012 by a lower court that held that the plaintiff was not a slave because she received health insurance, room and board and other perks in lieu of getting paid.


Philanthropy

Lidia Bastianich is an active member of society who participates in community service activities and special events on behalf of several foundations. She is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and a founding member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, two non-profit organizations of women leaders in the food and hospitality industries. She is also a champion for the United Nations Association of the United States of America's Adopt-A-Future program, in support of refugee education. Bastianich is on the Board of the Arrupe College, a higher education program founded by the
Loyola University of Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic universities in the United States. Its namesake is Saint ...
for underprivileged students, and regularly hosts Fundraisers for the program at
Eataly Eataly is a chain of large format/footprint Italian marketplaces (food halls) comprising a variety of restaurants, food and beverage counters, bakery, retail items, and a cooking school. Eataly was founded by Oscar Farinetti, an entrepreneur for ...
in Chicago. BoysGrow, a local non-profit vocational training program, is another organization that she works with by hosting annual Benefit Dinners since 2013 at her restaurant Lidia's in Kansas City. In addition, she has helped raise funds for
United Nations Development Fund for Women The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the Internationa ...
(UNIFEM)- now known as
UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and foc ...
- as co-chair of charity events and Benefit Dinners throughout her career. She is also involved with Jesuit Refugee Service, The Child Center of NY and hosts at classes at August Martin High School in Queens, New York. Bastianich is also actively involved with various non-profit organizations that are focused on promoting and celebrating Italian and Italian-American culture and heritage. She is part of the
National Organization of Italian American Women The National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW) is an American Sisterhood group founded in 1980 to represent Italian American women of varied professional and business backgrounds. Through the invitation of Dr. Aileen Riotto Sirey and ...
's Distinguished Board, a national organization for women of Italian ancestry that focuses on preserving Italian heritage, language and culture. In 2010, the Bastianich family was honored by NOIAW for their outstanding contributions to Italian culture in America. She supports the
Columbus Citizens Foundation The Columbus Citizens Foundation is a non-profit organization in New York City committed to fostering an appreciation of Italian-American heritage and achievement. The Foundation, through a range of philanthropic and cultural activities, provides ...
, a non-profit organization focused on promoting and celebrating Italian-American heritage. She was the Grand Marshal of the Columbus Day Parade in New York City in 2007, and an honorary guest at the 2016 Columbus Celebration Kickoff Event at Eataly Downtown in New York City. Moreover, Bastianich has worked with the Italian American Committee on Education (IACE), a New York-based non-profit organization that promotes the study of Italian language and culture, by visiting elementary schools and speaking to students as a guest speaker, such as in 2011 in Harlem and in 2014 in the Bronx. In 2014, Bastianich led the committee that determined the winners of a contest initiative launched by
Eataly Eataly is a chain of large format/footprint Italian marketplaces (food halls) comprising a variety of restaurants, food and beverage counters, bakery, retail items, and a cooking school. Eataly was founded by Oscar Farinetti, an entrepreneur for ...
and IACE for students.


See also

* List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards


References


External links


''Lidia's Italy''
Lidia Bastianich's official website *
''Celebrity Judges''
2000 MasterChef USA official website
Lidia Celebrates America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastianich, Lidia 1947 births Living people American cookbook writers American restaurateurs Women restaurateurs American television chefs American women non-fiction writers Businesspeople from Queens, New York Chefs of Italian cuisine Italian emigrants to the United States Istrian Italian people People from Astoria, Queens People from North Bergen, New Jersey People from Pula Television producers from New York City Writers from Queens, New York Writers from Manhattan Women cookbook writers American women chefs Eataly people James Beard Foundation Award winners 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers American women television producers People from Douglaston–Little Neck, Queens Chefs from New York City Yugoslav emigrants to Italy Television producers from New Jersey