Family background and personal life

Mario was raised in Seattle, Washington by Marilyn Batali and Armandino Batali, who worked for Boeing most of Mario’s childhood. He spent his high school years studying in Madrid, Spain before attending Rutgers University for Spanish Theater and Business Management. During his college years he worked for a stromboli restaurant and bar near the Rutgers campus called Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick, New Jersey. After graduating, he attended Le Cordon Bleu in London for a few short months before taking an apprenticeship with revered Chef Marco Pierre White in London at the Six Bells pub. Over the next three years he underwent a culinary transformation that prepared him to leap into New York’s Italian cuisine with his own unique signature.

Currently, Mario lives in Greenwich Village with his wife Susi Cahn, of Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and his two sons Leo and Benno. He keeps a summer home on Grand Traverse Bay in tiny Northport, Michigan.

Professional career

At 27, Mario was a sous chef at the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel, Santa Barbara after previously working as a sous chef for the Four Seasons Clift Hotel, San Francisco. In the early 1990s Mario began working at the Italian restaurant Rocco’s before opening Pó in New York City in 1993 with incredible success. The New York buzz for his restaurants translated into the Food Network show "Molto Mario" which aired from 1996 to 2004 where Mario’s career took off.

Mario teamed up with Joe Bastianich to form B&B Hospitality Group. Together they opened Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca in New York City which quickly gained the coveted three stars award from the New York Times, the first Italian restaurant to do so in 40 years. Together they opened seven more restaurants in New York: Lupa, Esca, Casa Mono, Bar Jamon, Otto, Del Posto, and Eataly (an Italian marketplace). In 2010, Del Posto received a four-star review from the New York Times. It is one of only six restaurants in New York with the award. Since 2008, Del Posto has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award. Their culinary empire has expanded to 10 restaurants in New York, four restaurants in Las Vegas, two restaurants in Los Angeles, two restaurants in Singapore, one Italian market in Chicago, and two restaurants in Hong Kong. In 2015 they opened Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca in the Seaport area of Boston.

Social activism

Batali is a critic of hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, a method of natural gas extraction. He has signed onto the cause of Chefs for the Marcellus, whose mission is to "protect regional foodshed from the dangers of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas (fracking)." In May 2013, Batali co-wrote an opinion article with chef Bill Telepan for the New York Daily News, in which the two wrote that "Fracking ... could do serious damage to agricultural industry and hurt businesses, like ours, that rely on safe, healthy, locally sourced foods."

Batali is on the board of directors for The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization which provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto of South Africa. He supports the practice of Transcendental Meditation through the David Lynch Foundation.

Philanthropy

The Mario Batali Foundation was founded in 2008 to ensure that all children are well read, well fed, and well cared for.

Mario aids the Lunchbox Fund which was founded as a nonprofit to ensure that orphaned and vulnerable school children in the rural areas of South Africa are given at least one meal a day.

He is also involved with the Food Bank for New York City which was founded to provide meals and support to the most vulnerable in New York City through soup kitchens, food pantries, classrooms, afternoon programs, and more.

Legal Settlement

In 2012, Batali agreed to pay a 5.25 million dollar settlement for a class action lawsuit brought against him for skimming tips from servers in his restaurants.

Television credits

• Molto Mario
• Mediterranean Mario
• Mario Eats Italy
• Ciao America
• Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters
• Iron Chef America: The Series (judge or participant)
• ICA:All-Star Special
• Mario, FULL BOIL (Special)
• GladWare container commercials
• Emeril Live (guest appearance)
• Chefography (guest appearance)
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (guest appearance)
• Spain... on the road Again (2008)
• The Daily Show (guest appearance) (2010, 2011, 2012)
• Bitter Feast (2010)
• Saturday Night Live (cameo; 2010)
• The Chew
• Good Morning America (guest appearances)

Awards

• Babbo, Michelin Guide, One Star
• Three Stars from The New York Times for "Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca"
• "Best New Restaurant of 1998" from the James Beard Foundation for "Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca"
• "Man of the Year" in GQ's chef category in 1999
• D'Artagnan Cervena Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2001
• "Best Chef: New York City" from the James Beard Foundation in 2002
• "All-Clad Cookware Outstanding Chef Award" from the James Beard Foundation in 2005 (national award)
• "Best Restaurateur" from the James Beard Foundation in 2008
• Culinary Hall of Fame Induction.

Bibliography

• Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages (1998), ISBN 0-609-60300-0
• Mario Batali Holiday Food : Family Recipes for the Most Festive Time of the Year (2000), ISBN 0-609-60774-X
• Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy (contributor) (2002), ISBN 0-609-60848-7
• The Babbo Cookbook (2002), ISBN 0-609-60775-8
• The Artist's Palate (foreword) (2003), ISBN 0-7894-7768-8
• Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home (2005), ISBN 0-06-073492-2
• Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style (2006), ISBN 0-89204-846-8
• Spain...A Culinary Road Trip (2008), written with Gwyneth Paltrow, and Julia Turshen. ISBN 978-0-06-156093-4
• Italian Grill (2008), written with Judith Sutton. ISBN 978-0-06-145097-6
• Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking (2010), written with Mark Ladner. ISBN 978-0-06-192432-3
• Molto Batali: Simple Family Meals from My Home to Yours (2011), ISBN 978-0-06-209556-5
• America - Farm to Table: Simple, Delicious Recipes Celebrating Local Farmers written with Jim Webster

Restaurants owned or operated by Batali and Bastianich Hospitality Group

• B&B Burger & Beer, Las Vegas
• B&B Ristorante, Las Vegas
• BABBO Pizzeria, Boston, Massachusetts
• BABBO Ristorante e Enoteca, New York City
• Bar Jamon, New York City
• Becco, New York City
• Birreria, New York City
• Carnevino Italian Steakhouse, Las Vegas, Nevada /Hong Kong
• Casa Mono, New York City
• Chi Spacca, Los Angeles
• Del Posto, New York City
• Eataly NYC, New York City
• ESCA, New York City
• Felidia, New York City
• Lidia’s, Kansas City, Missouri
• Lidia's Italy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• LUPA, New York City / Hong Kong
• Mozza2Go, Los Angeles, California
• Orsone, Frazione Gagliano, Italy
• Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles, California / Singapore
• OTTO Enoteca Pizzeria, New York City / Las Vegas
• Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles, California / Newport Beach, California / Singapore / San Diego
• Tarry Market, Port Chester
• Tarry Wine, Port Chester
• Tarry Lodge, Port Chester / Westport, Connecticut / New Haven, Connecticut

Charities

Mario Batali supports the following charitable cause: AIDS.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]