Lidia Bastianich
🇺🇸 United States · Italian cuisine · b. 1947
The Istrian-born grandmother of Italian-American cooking and the warm face of PBS in the kitchen.
Biography
Lidia Bastianich is an Italian-American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and Emmy Award-winning public-television presenter who has done more than almost anyone to broaden the American understanding of Italian regional cooking. Born in Pula, then in Istria-Yugoslavia (today Croatia), in 1947, she grew up under the post-war regime, fled to Italy with her family as refugees, lived in a displaced-persons camp at Trieste, and eventually emigrated to the United States in 1958.
She opened her first restaurant — Buonavia in Queens — with her then-husband Felice Bastianich in 1971. In 1981 she opened Felidia on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a restaurant that became a cornerstone of New York's Italian fine-dining scene and where her son Joe Bastianich (later business partner of Mario Batali and founder of Eataly) grew up working. She subsequently opened Becco, Lidia's Pittsburgh, Lidia's Kansas City and the Del Posto restaurant group with her son and Mario Batali.
Her PBS television series 'Lidia's Italy', 'Lidia's Italy in America' and 'Lidia's Kitchen' have been on the air since 1998 and have earned multiple Daytime Emmy Awards. Her books — including the standard reference 'Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen' (2001) and the memoir 'My American Dream' (2018) — have sold millions of copies and are widely used in U.S. culinary schools.
Cooking Philosophy
Italian-American is its own cuisine — and it deserves the same respect as regional Italian cooking. Bastianich has spent decades defending Italian-American cooking against the snobbery of European purists, arguing that it is a legitimate diaspora cuisine with its own history, its own canon (chicken Parmigiana, baked ziti, Sunday gravy) and its own techniques. She is equally committed to teaching the regional Italian cooking of Istria, Friuli and the Veneto that she grew up with.
Restaurants
- FelidiaNew York
Her Upper East Side flagship; opened 1981, closed 2020 after COVID-19.
- BeccoNew York (Theater District)
Her family pasta restaurant; still operating.
- Lidia's PittsburghPittsburgh
Opened 2001.
- Lidia's Kansas CityKansas City
Opened 1998.
- EatalyNew York / Boston / Chicago / Los Angeles / etc.
Co-founded with son Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali.
Awards & Recognition
- James Beard Foundation — Outstanding Chef (1999)
- James Beard Foundation — Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (1999)
- Multiple Daytime Emmy Awards for her PBS series
- Knight of the Italian Republic — for services to Italian cuisine abroad
- James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Iconic Dishes
Cookbooks
- Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen (2001)
- Lidia's Family Kitchen: Nonna's Birthday Surprise (children's, 2004)
- Lidia's Italy (2007)
- My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food (memoir, 2018)
- Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine (2015)
Recipes in Lidia's Style
These recipes from our database reflect the italian cooking tradition that Lidia works in. They are not direct reproductions of Lidia's copyrighted recipes, but traditional dishes inspired by the same culinary heritage.
In Lidia's Own Words
“Italian-American is not Italian, and it is not American. It is its own cuisine and it deserves its own respect.”
“Tutti a tavola a mangiare — everyone to the table to eat.”
“A grandmother in the kitchen is a culinary school in herself.”
Career Timeline
Emigrates from Istria to the United States.
Opens Buonavia in Queens with her then-husband.
Opens Felidia on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Launches PBS series Lidia's Italian Table.
Wins James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef award.
Opens Eataly NYC with son Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali.
Publishes memoir My American Dream.
Closes Felidia after 39 years following the COVID-19 shutdown.
Frequently Asked Questions about Lidia Bastianich
Where was Lidia Bastianich born?
She was born in Pula in 1947, then part of post-war Italy, today part of Croatia. Her family fled the Yugoslav regime, lived in a refugee camp at Trieste and emigrated to the United States in 1958.
What is Lidia's relationship to Eataly?
She is a co-founder of Eataly, the Italian-food megastore concept, alongside her son Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali, and the Italian entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti. The first U.S. Eataly opened in New York in 2010.
Is Lidia related to Joe Bastianich?
Yes — Joe Bastianich is her son. He grew up working at Felidia and went on to co-found Eataly, the Del Posto restaurant group and to judge MasterChef Italia.
What happened to Felidia?
Felidia, her Upper East Side flagship since 1981, closed permanently in 2020 after the COVID-19 lockdown made operating sustainable dining at that level impossible. She continues to run Becco and the Lidia's restaurants in Pittsburgh and Kansas City.
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