Book Mario Batali

Mario Batali is an American chef and writer who helped turn Italian cooking into prime-time television. Early in his career he worked as a sous chef at Four Seasons hotels in San Francisco and Santa Barbara and cooked for Jeremiah Tower at Stars in San Francisco, a restaurant credited as a birthplace of the celebrity chef era. His Food Network series Molto Mario, which ran from 1996 to 2004, focused on Italian cooking, made him a household name and helped build the network's audience. He went on to star in Ciao America with Mario Batali and Mario Eats Italy, and he battled as one of the featured Iron Chefs on Iron Chef America. In 1998 he formed B&B Hospitality Group with Joe and Lidia Bastianich, whose flagship, Babbo in New York City, held a Michelin star for several years; the group's restaurants included Del Posto and Lupa, with locations in New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He co-hosted ABC's daytime food show The Chew (2011 to 2017). Batali brings deep knowledge of Italian regional cuisine, ingredients and the craft of cooking.