Lidia Bastianich

Lidia Bastianich, an Emmy and James Beard Award-winning public television host, best-selling cookbook author, and successful restaurateur, established her acclaimed culinary career with the opening of her first restaurant, Buonavia, in Forest Hills, Queens, in 1971. Its success led to Villa Secondo, where her cuisine gained critical attention. In 1981, Bastianich opened Felidia, a Manhattan brownstone restaurant, her flagship earning three stars from The New York Times. Her profile rose further with an appearance on ‘Julia Child: Cooking With Master Chefs’ in 1993, the same year she partnered with son, Joe Bastianich, to open Becco in Manhattan’s Theater District, an immediate success.

Her enduring impact on the culinary world was celebrated with a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.