My American Dream

January 29, 2018
Chef and restaurateur Bastianich (Lidia’s Celebrate Like an Italian) offers a look into her culinary background in this charming memoir. Bastianich grew up in the former Yugoslavia under Communist rule and spent two years in an Italian refugee camp before immigrating to America with her family in 1958. While recounting youthful hardships—always from an optimistic point of view—Bastianich includes fond food memories, such as gathering wild asparagus, catching branzino with a favorite uncle, and working in the Queens bakery owned by actor Christopher Walken’s father. She also chronicles the history of her Upper East Side restaurant, Felidia, and lovingly follows her children’s entry into the food business—Joe as the founder and owner of Manhattan restaurant Becco and co-owner of Babbo and Lupa, and Tanya as the head of Bastianich’s Tavola Productions. “The cornerstone of my life has always been food: growing it, sometimes not having enough of it, preparing it, and relishing the many tastes and smells,” Bastianich writes. Whether recalling her lean years in Yugoslavia, cooking with Julia Child, or reeling in sockeye salmon during an Alaskan fishing trip with one of her grandchildren, Bastianich passionately evokes the concept that food is life. Through her lyrical prose, she also encourages readers to find the bright side of any situation. This is a welcome addition to any food lover’s library.

February 1, 2018
A famous chef recalls her adventures in cooking.Restaurateur, cookbook author, and TV host Bastianich (Lidia's Celebrate Like an Italian: 220 Foolproof Recipes that Make Every Meal a Party, 2017, etc.) offers an ebullient, nostalgic memoir of her journey to success. Her love for food began in her grandmother's capacious garden in Busoler, a small village in northern Italy. In 1947, just months after she was born, the region became part of communist Yugoslavia; although rural Busoler saw few effects, her family's life in the city of Pola changed dramatically. Censorship, repression, and an atmosphere of fear came to a head when her father was suddenly arrested and detained for 30 days. In 1958, her parents decided it was time for the family to escape: first her mother, the author, and her older brother obtained papers for a trip to Trieste, where her mother's sister lived; a few weeks later, her father arrived after making the perilous border crossing on foot. For the next two years, the family lived in a refugee camp, in barely rudimentary barracks, existing on rationed food. Bastianich was allowed to enroll in a nearby Catholic school, where she helped out in the kitchen: "a culinary transition point," she writes, because she learned to cook in volume. With astonishingly generous support from Catholic Relief Services, the Red Cross, and Catholic Charities, the family was able to fulfill their dream of settling in America. There, her mother's home cooking was supplemented by the bounties of American cuisine: "Spam, American cheese, and Wonder Bread were our favorites," the author gleefully admits. As a teenager, jobs in food service taught her about different recipes and cooks' techniques. Soon after marrying, she and her husband decided to open an Italian restaurant in Queens, which proved greatly popular. In 1981, they launched a swankier restaurant in Manhattan, earning accolades from food critics and patrons such as Julia Child and James Beard.A warm story of a life buoyed by resilience, determination, love of family, and food.

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Starred review from March 15, 2018
In this memoir, restaurateur, television star, and cookbook author Bastianich personifies the American dream. Escaping her native Istria in Yugoslavia after WWII, she spent several years in a former Nazi concentration camp in Trieste until the family was cleared to emigrate for America. She landed in New York, married, and started a restaurant in Queens. Eschewing stereotypical Italian American cuisine, the Bastianichs traveled frequently to Italy to research regional Italian cooking and opened Manhattan's Felidia to critical plaudits. Now a chef, Bastianich befriended a host of culinary greats such as James Beard and Julia Child, who inspired her to host a PBS cooking show. Soon she became the grande dame of Italian cooking in America. Throughout her rise, she stayed absolutely loyal to her family, and they have partnered with her in business to launch the phenomenally popular Eataly network of retail-restaurant megastores across the U.S. Bastianich's story holds even more significance for her triumph in a male-dominated industry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

March 15, 2018

If Julia Child and Jacques P�pin represent the French side of PBS's cooking shows, Bastianich dominates the Italian offerings. Long before the host of Lidia's Italy was instructing viewers on the techniques of authentic Italian food, she was a successful chef, opening her first restaurant in Queens, NY, in 1971. None of it was easy; but much was rewarding. Bastianich describes her childhood in Istria, present-day Croatia. She then recounts her immigration to the United States (including two years in a refugee camp), assimilation to American life, partnership with husband Felice, and the many influences on her career in food. The style will be familiar to watchers of her show: breezy and comfortable. Throughout, Bastianich sounds like she is telling you stories in her kitchen; her focus is on the centrality of family in her life and in her success. Another theme is the immigrant experience, and her empathy for those facing similar situations is palpable. VERDICT For fans of course, but this is also a good pick for those interested in immigrant stories as well as chef memoirs. Note that no recipes are included.--Devon Thomas, Chelsea, MI

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