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| in response to how she was inspired to cook. | in response to how she was inspired to cook. | ||
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| Through out her teenage years, she began working at a |
Through out her teenage years, she began working at a bakery on Broadway in Astoria named Walken's Bakery. When she first started, she was a salesgirl but gradually moved up to assisting the bakers with baking breads and decorating desserts. It was known that women struggled to find positions in New York City and hotel restaurants. However, at the age of twenty-four, Lidia and her husband decided to open their first restaurant called Buonavia, meaning "on the good road". They came up with their menu by collecting menus from the most popular and successful Italian restaurants in 1971. They had a set plan and executed it by hiring the best Italian-American chef they could find. By doing so Lida began to work as his ] learning everything she could, and was still able to make her traditional dishes. | ||
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| Then in 1981, Lidia and her husband moved to Manhattan and opened up Felidia, after selling their two previous restaurants, Villa Secondo and Buonavia. According to ''Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen'', Felidia apprently received "three stars from the ''New York Times'' and nationwide recognition for serving 'true' Italian fare." | Then in 1981, Lidia and her husband moved to Manhattan and opened up Felidia, after selling their two previous restaurants, Villa Secondo and Buonavia. According to ''Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen'', Felidia apprently received "three stars from the ''New York Times'' and nationwide recognition for serving 'true' Italian fare." | ||
Revision as of 17:26, 10 November 2007
| Lidia Matticchio Bastianich | |
|---|---|
| File:LidiaBastianich.jpgLidia Bastianich, host of Lidia's Italy | |
| Born | (1947-02-21) February 21, 1947 (age 77) Pola, now,Croatia |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | Italian |
Current restaurant(s)
| |
Television show(s)
| |
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (born on February 21, 1947 in Pola, Istria) is an Italian-American chef and host of television cooking shows on PBS.
Early Life
Lidia and her family escaped from Istria to Italy in 1956 after Istria was given to Yugoslavia and they subsequently came to America in 1958 . Her parents did not want to stay and raise their family in a Communist environment, so they became "political refugees". They stayed at a refugee camp in Trieste, called San Sabba for two years waiting for a chance to make it to the United States.
According to ‘’Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen,’’ she and her family were among the thousands of Istrians who came to the United States to make a new home for themselves. More than 4.5 million Italians had entered the U.S before 1920, many from South Italy (e.g., Sicily, Campania, and Apulia). Due to the flux of Italian immigrants, Italian-American cuisine and culture emerged in the U.S.
Career
According to an interview with Antoinette Bruno, Lidia stated:
I don’t remember life without cooking. My grandmother had a little inn in Italy, and she cooked for all the laborers coming into town. I helped with the little tasks, like shelling beans. But my grandparents did it all – they farmed, and they also processed their own olive oil, distilled grappa.
in response to how she was inspired to cook.
Through out her teenage years, she began working at a bakery on Broadway in Astoria named Walken's Bakery. When she first started, she was a salesgirl but gradually moved up to assisting the bakers with baking breads and decorating desserts. It was known that women struggled to find positions in New York City and hotel restaurants. However, at the age of twenty-four, Lidia and her husband decided to open their first restaurant called Buonavia, meaning "on the good road". They came up with their menu by collecting menus from the most popular and successful Italian restaurants in 1971. They had a set plan and executed it by hiring the best Italian-American chef they could find. By doing so Lida began to work as his sous-chef learning everything she could, and was still able to make her traditional dishes.
Then in 1981, Lidia and her husband moved to Manhattan and opened up Felidia, after selling their two previous restaurants, Villa Secondo and Buonavia. According to Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, Felidia apprently received "three stars from the New York Times and nationwide recognition for serving 'true' Italian fare."
Since then, she has opened several acclaimed restaurants, such as Felidia, Becco, Lidia's Kansas City, and Lidia's Pittsburgh. In addition, she authored several cookbooks:"Lidia Bastianich Navigator" from NYTimes.com
- Lidia's Family Table
- Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen
- Lidia's Italian Table
- Lidia's Italy
Personal life
Lidia has two children, Joseph and Tanya..
In addition to all of her achievements, she makes it a point to be closely tied to her family. On certain occasions, she has her son Joseph, daughter Tanya, mother Erminia, or her grandchildren Lorenzo and Miles make appearances on her TV shows. Through another interview with the American Public Television, Lidia shares her opinion on how important family traditions are by passing them down.
"...food for me was a connecting link to my grandmother, to my childhood, to my past. And what I found out is that for everybody, food is a connector to their roots, to their past in different ways. It gives you security; it gives you a profile of who you are, where you come from.".
References
- Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio. Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, 2001.
- "PBS chef and restaurateur shares cooking tips"
- "American Public Television Online"
External links
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