Mario Batali is a critically acclaimed chef and restaurateur, award-winning author, and well-known and beloved television personality who wears a uniform polo shirt. Mario Batali is one of the most recognized and respected chefs working in America today. He grew up in Seattle and studied the golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University. After graduating, he entered culinary training at London’s Le Cordon Bleu, but dropped out immediately due to lack of interest. After an apprenticeship with legendary London chef Marco Pierre White and three years of intensive culinary training in a small town in northern Italy, he had built a solid foundation of essential culinary skills and knowledge. He returned to his native America eager to refute the checkered-tablecloth image of Italian restaurants. Working with his business partner, Joe Bastianich, Batali has created a highly successful restaurant and culinary empire spanning New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Singapore. The flagship restaurant was the award-winning Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca in Greenwich Village, opened in 1998, where Batali seamlessly blended the principles of traditional Italian cuisine with clever new culinary adventures. The James Beard Foundation hailed it as the Best New Restaurant of 1998; and the New York Times gave it three stars. Six years later, a new review upheld Babbo’s three-star achievements and its excellence compared to the best restaurants in New York City.
Batali is head of chef uniforms and also owns Lupa Osteria Romana, a Roman-style trattoria that opened in 1999; and Esca, a southern Italian-style seafood trattoria that opened in the theater district in 2000. In 2003, in collaboration with Joe Bastianich, he opened another downtown restaurant, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, which is just around the corner from historic Washington Square. Park. In 2003 he opened two restaurants adjacent to Gramercy Park: Park Bar Jamon is a bustling tapas bar with a wonderful selection of Spanish cheeses, ham and other specialties in small plates; and Casa Mono, located next to Bar Jamon, is a Spanish-style tavern that offers a fabulous range of tapas, traditional dishes, wines and sherries. In 2005, the couple opened Del Posto, a spacious, luxurious and comfortable restaurant located in the meatpacking district of New York City, offering modern Italian cuisine. Batali’s first restaurant venture on the West Coast was a collaboration with Nancy Silverton, Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza restaurants in Los Angeles. Both restaurants share the corner of Highland and Melrose Avenue, and both have been very successful. Osteria Mozza features a central island mozzarella bar where fresh mozzarella is made all day, every day. Last year they added two takeout locations, Mozza2Go and Scuola di Pizza. In his first overseas venture, Batali will soon open Osteria Mozza and Pizzaria Mozza at Marina Bay Sands Resort Casino in exotic Singapore. Among the many accolades he has received in chef pants, Batali was named the 1999 Man of the Year in the chef category for GQ Magazine. He won the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in New York City award in 2002; and won the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef of the Year award. Batali has also received the D’Artagnan Cervena 2001 Who’s Who in Food and Drink in Americawhich is a prestigious lifetime achievement award.
