Restaurateur Joe Bastianich, alongside partners Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali, owns thirty successful restaurants worldwide including New York City-based Babbo and Del Posto and Carnevino in Las Vegas. In 2010, he expanded Los Angeles-based Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza to Singapore. Earlier that year, he and his partners teamed up with Italian retail pioneer Oscar Farinetti to bring Eataly, the world’s largest artisanal food and wine market, to New York. The North and South American branches have since flourished, with locations in Chicago, São Paolo, the World Trade Center and most recently, Boston.
He has received numerous accolades for his groundbreaking work in the food and wine sector. He has been honored with two James Beard Foundation Awards, in 2005 for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional and in 2008, together with his partner Mario Batali, for Outstanding Restaurateur.
When not working on expanding his restaurants and Eataly, Joe writes music and books. He has authored two books on Italian wine, Grandi Vini and the award-winning Vino Italiano. His memoir, Restaurant Man, became a New York Times Best Seller within one week of its release. He traces his journey from childhood, in 1970s Queens working at his family’s red sauce joint, to his present-day role within the culinary empire of the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group.
Joe continues to reprise his role as a judge on Sky’s MasterChef Italia. When he is not busy bringing new business ventures to life, both stateside and in Italy, he can be found at his home in New York City, playing guitar and spending time with his wife, Deanna, and their three children, whom he counts as his greatest achievements.
