Mario Batali – A great chef

Mario Batali was born in Yakima, WA and raised in Seattle, in a French-Italian Canadian family who loved to cook. He began his love of cooking as a child, when he would gather wild berries in his uniform pants and help his grandmother make jams and pies with them. His family moved to Spain in 1975, and Mario spent his high school years studying in Spain, and then in 1978 he returned to the US and attended Rutgers University. He had double majors in economics and Spanish theater, graduating in 1982.

While in college, Mario started working as a dishwasher in New Brunswick, NJ’s fill your face restaurant, but soon graduated as a pizza maker and chef. His first introduction to culinary training was at Le Cordon Bleu in London, but he left almost immediately because he wanted more hands-on experience. He began an apprenticeship with Marco Pierre White at six bells public house in Chelsea London. He also worked in Paris’ silver towerprovence Mougins milland from London Inn by the water. In 1985 he became sous chef at San Francisco’s four season cliftand then chef at Santa Barbara’s the marina. He quit his job in 1989 and moved to the small town of Borgo Capanne in northern Italy for three years to apprentice at The Voltawhere he mastered traditional Italian cuisine, before returning to his native United States eager to open his own restaurant.

After working at some of New York City’s hot spots, in 1998 he donned chef’s uniforms and opened babbowhich immediately won the James Beard Foundation Best New Restaurant Award, and received three stars from the New York Times (he won New York Times‘three stars again six years later). After babboMario’s success opened nine other restaurants in New York, as well as restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In 1999 Mario was named “Man of the Year” in QGchef category; in 2002 she won the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef in New York City” award; and in 2008 his “Best Restorer” award.

Along with Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck, Mario was one of Food Network’s Iron Chefs in their 2004 Battle of the Masters in chef pants with original Japanese Iron Chefs Morimoto and Sakai, which became a weekly series in 2005. Other shows from Mario for Food Network include cool mario, mediterranean mario, Mario eats Italy, Bye AmericaY Mario Full Boil. In 2007, Mario left the Food Network for PBS, where he appeared in a thirteen-episode series on Spanish cuisine. Spain… back on the road. Mario is negotiating with the Travel Channel for a series on Italian cooking. In 2009, Mario announced the launch of the Mario Batali Foundation, whose purpose is to educate, encourage, and empower children by raising funds for research into childhood illnesses, children’s literacy, and hunger relief.