Lidia Bastianich Biography
Lidia Bastianich is a celebrity chef, television host, author, and restaurateur of Italian descent. Bastianich, who specializes in Italian and Italian-American cuisine, has been a regular contributor to public television cooking shows since 1998.
How old is Lidia Bastianich? – Age
She is 74 years old as of 21 February 2021. She was born in 1974 in Pula, Croatia. Her real name is Lidia Giuliana Matticchio Bastianich.
Lidia Bastianich Family
She is the late Erminia’s and Vittorio Matticchio’s daughter. She lived in Yugoslavia with her family until 1956, during which time the family Slavicized their surname from Matticchio to Motika. Bastianich fled to Trieste, Italy, with her brother Franco and mother under the guise of paying a visit to their sick aunt Nina, a personal chef. Her father soon joined them in Trieste after crossing the border into Italy late at night.
Lidia Bastianich Husband
She met her husband Felice “Felix” Bastianich, a fellow Istrian immigrant and restaurant worker from Labin on the eastern coast of Istria, Croatia at her sweet sixteen birthday party. Lidia gave birth to their son, Joe, in 1968 after the couple married in 1966. Tanya, their second child, was born in 1972.
Lidia and Felice divorced in 1998 after many disagreements about the direction their entrepreneurial and personal lives had taken, most notably the pace of their business’s expansion and character. Bastianich continued to expand her business while Felice transferred his ownership to their two children. He passed away on December 12, 2010.
Lidia Bastianich Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $16 Million.
Lidia Bastianich Cookbooks
Lidia has co-authored a number of cookbooks with her daughter Tanya, as well as companion books to her Emmy-winning television show Lidia’s Kitchen, Lidia’s Italy in America, and Lidia’s Italy. Lidia’s most recent book is Lidia’s A Pot, A Pan, and a Bowl, which is a companion to her new 26-part Public Television series, Lidia’s Kitchen: Home Cooking. She is also the author of My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food, which has been published in both English and Italian. Lidia’s cooking shows are broadcast nationally in the United States on Public Television and CREATE, as well as internationally on a variety of digital networks such as Amazon Prime, Tubitv, and Xumo. Her cooking segments are also available on her YouTube channel, TUTTOLIDIA.
Lidia Bastianich House
This home has 3,624 square feet of living space and is located in the Little Neck neighborhood of Queens, NY. According to public property records, the property’s current appraised value is $1,256,800. Her son’s house is also on this property. Joe Bastianich appears on Lidia’s show from time to time to share his wine knowledge. He lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife Deanna and their three children.
Lidia Bastianich Culinary Empire
She has built a culinary empire that rivals any in the country from humble beginnings. Bastianich is the owner of two restaurants: Becco in New York City and Lidia’s in Kansas City. Eataly, on the other hand, is her most well-known business venture. The 50,000-square-foot Italian marketplace, which opened in Manhattan’s Flatiron District in 2010, includes six restaurants, five takeaway counters, two coffee bars, a Nutella bar, a fresh pasta counter, a bakery, gelateria, and more. Bastianich and her partners have since opened five more locations across the country, including a second location in New York, as well as Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
Lidia Bastianich Eataly
Bastianich and her son partnered with Oscar Farinetti in 2010 to open Eataly, a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) food emporium in Manhattan devoted to Italian food and culinary traditions. At Eataly’s La Scuola, Bastianich teaches culinary and gastronomy classes to the general public. “We sell what we cook, and we cook what we sell,” says Eataly. Eataly has expanded to Chicago and So Paulo, Brazil. In 2016, they opened a second store in New York at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, followed by another in Boston the following year. Eataly recently opened locations in Los Angeles in 2017, Las Vegas in 2018, and Toronto in 2019.
Lidia Bastianich Career
Lidia is a well-known chef and restaurateur who owns Eataly locations in New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, Toronto, and Sao Paolo, Brazil. Lidia, along with Tanya and son-in-law Corrado, has also created the LIDIA’S line of artisanal pastas and all-natural sauces.
Lidia is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and a founding member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, two non-profit organizations of female food and hospitality leaders. She is also a supporter of the Adopt-A-Future program of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, which promotes refugee education.Lidia has received seven James Beard Awards (Outstanding Chef, Television Food Show, Best Chefs in America, Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, Specials 2016, Special 2017 and 2018), as well as two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Culinary Host (2013 and 2018).