Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

Star of the public television series, LIDIA’S ITALIAN AMERICAN KITCHEN, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is widely regarded as the “First Lady of Italian cuisine and restaurants in the United States.” She was born in Pola, Istria, a region formed by the Gulf of Trieste at the juncture of Italy and the former Yugoslavia, and she came to New York in 1958. Her television show, Lidia’s Italian American Kitchen, began airing in January, 2001 and is accompanied by her third cookbook by the same name, released in October 2001 (Knopf). Lidia’s Italian Table was released in September 1998 together with a companion book of the same name (William Morrow, 1998). In addition, Lidia is the author of the monthly column, Lidia’s Italian Table, distributed by Universal Press Syndicate. Her partners, Geoffrey Drummond and Nat Katzman of A La Carte Communications, are excited about Lidia’s active and continuous on-air presence. In addition to her appearance in the television series, she has been active in working with stations around the country hosting pledge marathons. She has already hosted specials in San Francisco, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, Long Island, San Antonio, Dallas, Washington D.C. and Kansas City. Lidia was also one of the five top television chefs (along with Jacques Pepin, Paul Prudhomme, Martin Yan and Nathalie Dupre’) to be featured in a Julia Child hosted millennium cooking special, AN AMERICAN FEAST, which aired in December, 2000 in every television market in the U.S. Lidia is also considered an acclaimed chef and restaurateur. She is the owner of the award-winning FELIDIA restaurant and, with her son Joseph, runs the very popular theater district eatery BECCO. Lidia is also a partner in ESCA restaurant with her son Joseph and Mario Batali. Lidia and Joseph’s first venture outside of New York City was at LIDIA’S KANSAS CITY with managing partner David Wagner, a native of Kansas City. The restaurant, which has now also expanded to LIDIA’S PITTSBURGH, combines the cuisines of both Felidia and Becco restaurants. The concept of LIDIA’S will continue to expand in other mid-size cities across the U.S. during the upcoming years. Lidia developed her own line of pasta sauces, LIDIA’S FLAVORS OF ITALY, with one of her television sponsors in 1998. Colavita USA, the distributor, began working in the tri-state market and has found much success. Currently the sauce line is found nationwide, and she is working on an exclusive product for Williams Sonoma stores. Lidia is also the founder of ESPERIENZE ITALIANE, an international tour operator that specializes in high-end trips to Italy. The company is in its fifth year of operation and currently designs tours for clients such as Lehman Brothers, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (now part of Credit Suisse), American Express Publishing and an exclusive tour for American Express Platinum Card, which is published in the card’s newsletter that goes to more than 350,000 members. Lidia’s website, www.lidiasitaly.com was launched in 1998 and is now visited by 36,000-45,000 people monthly. There are over 55,000 subscribers to the monthly recipe and newsletter, and current plans include expanding the e-commerce side of the site.

RESTAURANTS 2001-present Co-owner of Lidia's, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2000-present Co-owner of Esca, New York City 1998-present Co-owner of Lidia's, Kansas City, Missouri 1995-1999 Co-owner (with son Joseph) of Frico Bar, New York City 1992-present Co-owner (with son Joseph) of Becco, New York City 1981-Present Owner of Felidia, New York City 1979-1981 Owner of Villa Secondo, Fresh Meadows, New York 1972-1981 Owner of Buonavia Restaurant, Forest Hills, New York FELIDIA AND LIDIA ACCOLADES 2002 Outstanding Chef Award, James Beard Foundation 2002 IACP Best Ethnic Cookbook 2002 La Bellissima America Award, Italian American Museum, Calandra Institute 2001 Bon Appetit Chef of Merit, Fourth Annual Food and Entertaining Awards 2001 Zagat Survey Listed in the Top 50 Food Ranking, one of the Top Italian Overall. 2000 Wine Spectator Grand Award Winning Wine List 2000 Recipient of the Golden Whisk Award, Women Chefs and Restauranteurs 1999 Honored at the annual NYACT (New York Association of Cooking Teachers) Awards Program 1999 Named Best Chef in New York by the James Beard Foundation. 1997   Named one of Wine Spectator's Top Ten Italian Restaurants. 1995 New York Times Restaurant Review. Received three stars. 1995 Passport to New York Restaurants. Received five stars. 1994 Selected as a guest chef for Julia Child's Cooking With Master Chefs (PBS)--nominated for Emmy Award. 1992 New York Times Restaurant Review. Received three stars. 1988 Restaurant Wine List Winner Grand Award, San Francisco. 1987 Woman of the Year/Innovation Award, Restaurant Category, Womens Institute of the Center for Food and Hotel Management. PUBLICATIONS 2001 Lidia's Italian American Kitchen (Knopf, 2001) 2001 Lidia's Italian Table, a syndicated column distributed by Universal Press (January - December 2001) 2001 Featured in New York Times "Home" Section 2000 Featured in Good Housekeeping 1999 Featured in Food & Wine Presents the Best of the Best (American Express/Food and Wine Books) 1999 Featured in Great Kitchens - At Home with America's Top Chefs (Taunton) 1998 Lidia's Italian Table (William & Morrow, 1998) 1991-1998 Editor of "A Celebration of Life," a special insert of New York Times Magazine 1993-1998 Featured in national magazines such as Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Wine Spectator 1993-1999 Wine and Spirits, Food & Wine, Saveur 1990 La Cucina di Lidia (Doubleday, 1990) COMMUNITY SERVICE 2001 Chair of UNIFEM Special Benefit for Recipes for Peace 1999 Co-Chair of UNIFEM Special Benefit for the Women of Kosovo event 1998 Co-Chair of UNIFEM Celebration of Women charity event 1994 Founded Good Samaritan Hospital to adopt and aid victims of Bosnian war Visit Lidia's website at www.lidiasitaly.com.