Mario Batali Biography

Chef, restaurateur, television personality. Born in Seattle to French and Italian parents, Batali attended high school in Spain and college at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he was a student of Spanish theater. Always passionate about food, Batali enlisted at Le Cordon Bleu in London only to drop out soon after for an apprenticeship with London's legendary Marco Pierre White. He spent three years training in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne, returning to the States to put his newfound talents to work.

Batali’s flagship restaurant, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, opened in Manhattan’s West Village in 1998. The restaurant received three stars from the New York Times and was named "The Best New Restaurant of 1998" by the James Beard Foundation. Subsequent Italian eateries included a Roman-style trattoria called Lupa, a southern Italian seafood trattoria called Esca (2000) and Otto Enoteca Pizzeria (2003). Batali also cofounded a retail shop called Italian Wine Merchants.

The chef and restaurateur also hosts two television programs for The Food Network, Molto Mario and Mario Eats Italy. In his signature orange clogs and red beard, Batali encourages viewers to embrace Italian cookery with gusto. He has authored three books, Simple Italian Food, Mario Batali Holiday Food and The Babbo Cookbook.

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