Prime Numbers

[russ parsons]

mr. molto,

you seem to be able to almost effortlessly (seemingly) spin off one restaurant after another, contrary to most foodie's vision of a single dedicated guy slaving in a single kitchen. do you think there's a limit to the number of outlets one chef can manage? is there some limit beyond which either you or your universe might begin to implode? what are the limiting factors in opening new outlets--either organizational or artistic?

best as always,

rp

[Mario Batali]

hey russ great to hear from you

as long as i have been in nyc, now 12 years.. as i run across exceptionally bright or talented people, i have told them, stick with me and one day we will be partners...from babbo the sous chef mark ladner and ex mgr of po jason denton came together and we started lupa, my old pal dave pasternack, whose wife donna worked at po, and still does , came to me in a dream and we went to italy and then opened esca, andy nusser origianl exec chef at babbo and i took a trip to spain and casa mono and bar jamo were born and so it will go... i donot own all of these restaurants, i (and my business partner joe bastianich) own from half to about 3/4s of each of these joints with the intention of watering down our equity as time goes on and we are slowly bought down to a certain number... i look at it as enabling my great employees to become my partners, and greedily sharing in the up side... so as long as there are motivated line cooks and dishwashers with an intensity of spirit and the sense of short term sacrifice it takes to become an equity partner, i do not see any implosion in the future... keep in mind the last place we opened is a 42 seater in grammmercy.. we are not building warships here, merely good places to eat and have a good time... see you in nyc russ mb