Mario Batali

hey ben i would say it is premature to feel you have had bad timing in life so far the whole key to the gig is ultimate optimism if life gives you sweetbreads, make ris de veau in meli melo... if you know what i mean before anything read all of elizabethdavid, waverly root, leibling, pellegrino, artusi and jeffrey steingarten and discuss it with your friends, family and teachers then, the first step is to surpass the us labor code for children working i am pretty sure you have to be 16 to have a real paying job outside of agriculture, but who needs pay... 2nd (and this is very crucial... you need to find a truly great one, of which there at least 20 in chicago)find the best restaurant near your house (say topolobampo in chi town) and write the chef a letter saying that you are fully insured, will indemnify the restaurant for personal injury and offer to work 1 day a week, say saturday daytime... for free!!! from the inside it is easier to see if you really love it as much as you think... it is long hard hours, and no one will offer you a tv show, ever///// once you love it, be sure you are getting at least a 3.5 in school and ask for another free work day.....maybe 2 times a month this will get your feet wet and possibly set you up for a paying job when you have the time later in high school... now here is the hardest pill to swallow..... then you have to apply and get into a college... no matter how obvious your career choice seems now you may want to proceed otherwise later in life, so you need to get a higher education... it does not matter so much what you study, but to go to and graduate college!!!! it is key in the development of problem solving strategy for all life in general i studied spanish theater of the golden age.. a real career move!!?? anyway work at the best restaurant near your college throughout the 4 years and then go to work at the best one you can find and start at any level they will have you... at this point you will be 22 and have 4 - 6 years experience in good restaurants, have a college education and have your pick of jobs in the world of food... not the super fast track.. but a great position to be in at a very young age compared to the rest of the salty dawgs in the kitchens you will be slaving in cooking schools??? you will not need them at this point, you will be a cook good luck and call me when you are ready for more tips mb

hey chris how is la????? i would love to do a show with just the hearts (not the soles...) of game birds or wild game......... or see what someone could do with hops, or maybe just the feet.... nothing is too wild for me except durian mb

hey t the guests were chosen by myself and my producer and were predominantly members of my staff at the restos and a few friends... we are not taping any more of molto as of now, but keep calling the food net and we will see what happens mb

yes you can wear shorts!!!! a perfect burger needs to have started out with enough fat to render out while leaving its greasy fat flavor in the moist hot meat, i like 25 % fta in the ground chuck i like for burgers ... it should either be chargrilled, broiled, or cooked on a flat griddle and turned only once to get maximum char on the first cook side... it shouldbe seasoned aggressively on the way to the heat source on both sides and should be served on a bun that respects the balance of meat to bread ratio... it should go to the edge, but not much further and the bun should not be over whelmed by the meat.. it is a sandwich after all.... condiments should all be offered on the side unless you have a special sauce to sneak on there... my faves in nyc are at corner bistro, peter luger and the turkey burger at blue ribbon mb

hey ann there never was a clear moment of eye opening stuff, it just seemd to me that i loved cooking more than what i was studying even back at stuff yer face pizzeria... i could still become a pool boy if i play mycards right mb

hey js just let it keep cooking... you need a very thick bottomed pan for this step to work, eventually the fat will render and start to almost fry the meat.... after the juices have evaporated,,, this could take an hour over low heat perservere!!!!!! mb

my first book has a good recipe.... simple italian cooking boar available at dartagnan mb

fried oysters at pearl tacos al pator at dos caminos sauteed calamari and marrow bones at blue ribbon roast chicken for two at balthazar raw scallops with uni and mustard oil at union pacific hanger steak at les halles pontormo at beppe shortribs on sugar cane at bao 111 poached eggs on sweet potato hash with green chili hollandaise at mesa grill kumquat mojito at spice market falafel crusted salmon at aqua grill falafel at rainbow hamachi with jalapeno and toro tartare at nobu slice with fresh mozzarella at joes on bleecker and i am sorry to say but i am booked for new business into 2008, so no go on patsy's partnership mb

hey the strozzapreti i know are rough twisties of fresh pasta sauced with a rustic ragu of pork or sausage in the romagna region and they are my faves mb

tonite i would start with the salumi, then the spaghetti alla chitarra with chilis and bottarga, then the squab, then a taste of taleggio, the the cherry crostata mb

it was to cook on the fly for my hungry kids... they have a problem with parsley, i do not mb

mexico, morocco, india, chile, brazil, japan, thailand, soviet georgia, croatia and i could keep on going the trick is that the italians also do such a great job on design and marketing and make it easy to come visit or spend on ITALIA without probs mb

no story and no truth to it, i have heard it too and have consistantly diregarded it to no obvious damage mb

besy case san marzano canned and grown in italy, second choice pomi... parmalat great and available every where, third choice, california grown "italian plum tomatoes" which you may have to doctor up with a pinch of sugar or a teaspoon of wine vinegar to kick up the sweet/acid mb

elizabeth david, waverly root aj leibling, angelo pellegrino, artusi, alice waters, paula wolfert, faith willinger, tony bourdain just this month keep on keepin on mb

hey pizza at otto or totonnos in coney island gelato otto or frozen custard at custard beach in grand central chili dog??? how bout a kraut dog at grays papaya welcome to ny can i get you a hot towel???? mb

hey nk the dish is called sanguinaccio and can be made with our without blood, i have a cool variation in my holiday cookbook without blood, the only to place to buy fresh blood, as it is illegal to ship across state lines, is a real slaughterhouse... find one or kill your own pig!!!!! mb ps chinatown often disregards contemporary commercial laws

i never got more hate mail than after the showing of resto rookies and would be less likely to do it again... the public perception was that i was rough on my little puupies and that i mistreated them in the rough and tumble world of the restaurant reality...if they only new mb

the only thing important about that ingredient, if i want to win, or at least make tasty food, is that i recognize it and have worked with it before that said... fish and shellfish are the easiest to work with, they cook more quickly and i can decide more later in the game mb

food and cooking starts as soon as a child realizes something is truly good... having the family in the kitchen is the building block to traditions which lead to memories, which lead to more traditions... kids are ready to have jobs in the kitchen when they are ready to stand, the responsibility of fire and knives is something that each parent will know about when the moment comes, but stirring and mixing and tasting and smelling and serving and cleaning up are part of the essential fabric of our sensory experience smell, taste, hear, touch and see the food and it is real mb

in cooking what i like to cook, i have never felt like i was out to change peoples perception of italian or any other kind of food, i simply make what i like to eat and am lucky that it seems to be what other people like to eat tooo... i have never felt missionary, more just happily cooking and continuing to learn away. sometimes surprised by the reaction to food, but never disheartened i think my greatest attribute is my optimism and positive outlook on the gift of life and i am not sure where i am on the ladder but am just as happy to be on a rung mb

i love egullet and for that matter any forum for good discussion and debate on topics dear to our hearts... the only problem, and this goes with anything from larry flint to the ultra christian right, is that thru anonymity a lot of really angry people can take silly pot shots at serious thinkers and doers and the tendency in some cases to drag the whole gutterteetering can take some of the fun out of it... but freedom of expression is our dearest commodity and that is the price we pay to have it...... so bring on the twisted angry food/look/diet/authenticity nazis and let em fry me mb

for first trippers the grand tour of venezia, firenze and rome is a great way to start, but look on the www.babbonyc.com web site and read thru the travel pages that i have written and see if anything really gets you going... thatsaid.. i love bologna and the amalfi coast as for you eight legged question.. we put the octo in a big pot with a couple of chilis, 2 cloves garlic and a cork , and no water...and pop it into a 350 oven for a hour covered and then remove it and let it cool... we then portion it, chill it and then grill it to order on the hot spot of the grill easy no??? mb

sadly the worlds best saltimbocca is not just a recipe it is a place... you need to go to la carbonara in rome and eat it there... no apologies, everything they get there sings rome like caruso sang napoli and you just cannot make it the same here in the us.... 2nd choice lupa on thompson st in nyc where mark ladner has made a lifestyle out of personalizing roman classics without them tasting translated at all 'mb

sadly la volta closed 10 years ago but gianni and betta have a "pizzeria" down the hill in ponte della venturina that totally rocks. i would order the handmade pasta in whatever form it takes and let gianni drive the boat from there mb