Mario Batali believes that olive oil is as precious as gold, that shorts are acceptable attire for every season, and food, like most things, is best when left to its own simple beauty. To that end, Mario creates magic night after night in Manhattan's West Village and Theater District, dividing his time between his many Italian hotspots, the flagship of which is Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, an upscale dining room where Mario has seamlessly combined traditional Italian principles with intelligent culinary adventure since June of 1998.

A gastronomic superstar from its inception, Babbo was honored as “The Best New Restaurant of 1998” by The James Beard Foundation, and Ruth Reichl at the New York Times hailed it with three stars.  Six years later, a re-review by Frank Bruni maintained Babbo’s three-star power and its excellence among New York City’s finest restaurants. Mario and Joe also own Lupa, a Roman-style trattoria, with Jason Denton and Mark Ladner, as well as a wine shop just off Union Square, Italian Wine Merchants.  Esca, a southern Italian seafood trattoria, opened in the Theater District in April 2000. I In January 2003, Mario and Joe opened another downtown eatery, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, located around the corner from historic Washington Square Park.  Otto serves pizza, pasta, house-cured salumi, vegetables, and 600 wines, Casa Mono and Bar Jamón, both opened in December 2003, are on Irving Place, a block away from Italian Wine Merchants. Casa Mono is a Spanish-style taverna featuring wines, sherries, tapas and traditional entrees. Bar Jamón, adjacent to Casa Mono, is a bustling tapas bar with wonderful Spanish cheeses, hams and small plate specialties. In December 2005, Mario opened Del Posto with Joe, Lidia Maticchio Bastianich and Mark Ladner. This spacious restaurant in New York City’s meatpacking district features modern Italian cooking in a luxurious and comfortable setting. The duo’s most recent venture, in collaboration with Nancy Silverton is Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles. Sharing the corner of Highland and Melrose Avenue, the former features a center island mozzarella bar, where fresh mozzarella is made all day, every day. Mario and Joe Bastianich bring their award-winning Italian restaurant expertise to Las Vegas. Now open for business, B&B Ristorante e Enoteca in the beautiful Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino, features a blend of exquisite Italian food and a casual elegance that captures the soul of an Italian grandmother dancing the tango with pop rock hipsters.

For more information and locations of all the Batali brand restaurants click here.

Raised in Seattle, Mario's initial career path had him studying the golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University, but soon after graduating, he took his first bite of culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in London, from which he withdrew almost immediately due to a "lack of interest." An apprenticeship with London's legendary chef Marco Pierre White and three years of intense culinary training in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne, (population 200) gave him the essential skills and knowledge to return to his native US, anxious to plant his orange-clogged foot firmly in the behinds of the checkered tablecloth-Italian restaurant establishment.

Among his many accolades, Mario was named "Man of the Year" in the chef category by GQ Magazine in 1999. In 2002 he won the James Beard Foundation's "Best Chef: New York City" award, and in 2005 the James Beard Foundation awarded Mario "Outstanding Chef of the Year". Mario is also one of the recipients of the 2001 D'Artagnan Cervena Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America, a prestigious lifetime achievement award.

Ever the avid educator, Mario hosts the Food Network program, "Molto Mario". He also engages in fierce culinary battle in the Food Network series "Iron Chef America." Mario has authored Simple Italian Food (Clarkson Potter, 1998), Mario Batali Holiday Food (Clarkson Potter, 2000); The Babbo Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, 2002); and Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes (Ecco, 2005). Most recently, Mario and NASCAR, the country’s leading spectator sport, have joined forces to create the first ever cookbook for NASCAR fans. In Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style (The Sporting News), Mario uses his talent, knowledge and wit to teach NASCAR tailgaters how to prepare a winning barbecue and pre/post race spread every time.

Mario splits his time between New York City’s Greenwich Village and Northern Michigan with his wife Susi Cahn of Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons.