First published 2012
Joe Bastianich transforms his passion for food and wine into a culinary empire. The Queens native starts by learning the business from his father Felice at their family's red sauce restaurant. After a brief stint on Wall Street, Joe buys a one way ticket to Italy, where he works in restaurants and vineyards. Back in New York, he teams up with his mother Lidia and later partners with Mario Batali. Together they create a series of acclaimed Italian restaurants. Joe reveals how Babbo revolutionized Italian dining, how research trips through Italy inspired Lupa and Esca, and how Del Posto overcame its initially impossible menu to become America's first four star Italian restaurant. He exposes the wine industry's markup secrets and shares brutal truths about the business. At its core, this memoir celebrates the old school restaurant man who builds success through relentless hard work and an obsession with exceeding customer expectations.
Genres: business, american, autobiography, 21st-century, food-and-drink, culinary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: rags-to-riches, self-made-man
Setting: Italy, New York, Queens
Period: 21st-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Viking