NOW ENTERTAINMENT Dec. 17 Month 00- -23, 00,2023 2023
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Chef Lidia Bastianich walks down memory lane in “25 Years with Lidia: A Culinary Jubilee,” premiering Monday, Dec. 18, on PBS. Chef Gallagher and Chef Lidia Bastianich in “25 Years With Lidia: A Culinary Jubilee”
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Cover Story Lidia’s life: Celebrity chef Bastianich reflects on career with ‘Culinary Jubilee’ By Dana Simpson Despite its ties to culture, religious practices, family economics, environmental concerns or political statements, food has a distinct way of bringing people together and encouraging conversation. Few people know this better than chef, author, restaurateur and TV personality Lidia Bastianich, whose catchphrase, “Tutti a tavola a mangiare” — or “Everyone to the table to eat,” in English — has united people for the past 25 years. Best known for her countless shows and specials on public television during the past three decades, PBS releases an up-close-and-personal look into the life and work of the celebrated chef; “25 Years with Lidia: A Culinary Jubilee” premieres Monday, Dec. 18. In honor of this quarter-century milestone in her career, Bastianich welcomed the opportunity to speak with me about her childhood, her career, her own personal relationship to food and cul-
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ture, and the moments that have meant the most to her throughout her journey thus far. Caught in what was no doubt a rare moment at her home in Long Island, N.Y., Bastianich joins our video call clad in a vibrant pink sweater and scarf that provide a cheerful contrast to the white bookcases and potted palm behind her. “My grandmother used to make a soup [I loved],” Bastianich reminisces. “It’s called yota, and it’s unique to the region that I come from, [Pula, Istria], which is right on the border in [what] now is Croatia. ... It’s a bean and pasta soup, but instead of the pasta, she would put in sauerkraut, and I loved it.” As PBS’s “25 Years with Lidia” shows through interviews with friends, family and colleagues of hers from throughout the years, Bastianich is an excellent communicator herself and values meaningful, deeply
human connections above all else. To support this, the hour-long documentary features moments with fellow chef/restaurateurs Jacques Pepin (“Jacques Pépin Heart & Soul”), Mary Sue Milliken (“Too Hot Tamales”), Elizabeth Falkner (“The Next Iron Chef”) and Geoffrey Zakarian (“The Kitchen”). Perhaps the most surprising appearance in “25 Years with Lidia,” though, is that of celebrated actor and fellow Astorian Christopher Walken (“Pulp Fiction,” 1994). “I came [to the United States] at 12 years old, as an immigrant, and we lived in Astoria, Queens. ... Right across the street was Walkens’ Bakery,” explains Bastianich as she elaborates on the sense of community among immigrants to New York City at the time. “Christopher [Walken]’s father was a German immigrant and he was a great baker, so [then] a 16-year-old immigrant ... I applied ... and he took me on weekends,” Basti-
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anich says. “Christopher’s job was to fill the jelly doughnuts with jelly and he used to press them and make a mess. We were friends, you know, the weekends we were there.” Beyond the interviews with Bastianich and those closest to her, “25 Years with Lidia” also features “rare and never-before-seen video and photographs” from the now-established chef’s journey to celebrity, including recollections of milestone moments. An emblematic figure of traditional Italian cooking in America, Bastianich is honored for her contribution to the culinary arts “with a celebratory meal, held at Lidia’s family-owned restaurant, Becco, in Manhattan. Sharing in the special occasion are longtime friends Jacques Pépin, Christopher and Georgianne Walken, Geoffrey Zakarian, NYC restaurateur Angelo Vivolo, and Geoffrey Drummond, who was Julia Child’s producer and helped Lidia get started in television” (per PBS).
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