Chef Interviews

An expansive restaurant empire, a talk show, and a children's foundation aren't enough to keep Mario Batali busy; the chef also released his ninth cookbook, Molto Batali: Simple Family Meals From My Home to Yours, in the past week. Yet surprisingly, when we caught up with him, what we discovered was an underlying theme to his life philosophy: that of simplicity. Whether it's the return of the family meal, his healthy eating philosophy, or his plans for the holidays, everything in this chef's life seems to reflect his inclination toward a pared-down, rustic lifestyle.

We checked in with America's foremost Italian chef for an update on Eataly, his growing food emporium; the hottest ingredient in Italian cooking right now; and, his thoughts on the always-controversial Anthony Bourdain.

YumSugar: Family meal cookbooks seem to be a big thing right now. Why do you think that is, and what's the point of view of your cookbook?
Mario Batali: The family meal has always been an important part of the American psyche; it's just been on hiatus for a few decades. It all comes back to my belief that it's all about family, children, and confidence through the guise of deliciousness. Entertaining at home for family and friends rounds out the equation.
 
YS: What are your plans for the holidays this year?
MB: We'll be at our house in northern Michigan for Christmas. I bake the ham in my wood-burning oven.

YS: Porchetta has certainly had its moment in the spotlight. What's going to be the next big Italian ingredient?

Find out his answer when you keep reading.

It's hard to keep a restaurant that's been open over a decade perennially packed, but Craig Stoll makes it look easy. The chef-owner's flagship restaurant, Delfina, has been open for 13 years, yet remains one of San Francisco's top dining destinations. Stoll and his wife, Annie, have a new Roman restaurant, Locanda, as well as two locations of the absurdly popular Pizzeria Delfina, which was named one of the 25 best pizzas in America.

I talked to the James Beard Award winner about what keeps his restaurants interesting, upcoming projects, and the controversial state of fine dining today.

YumSugar: Delfina's been open for 13 years. How do you continue to move forward?
Craig Stoll: It's just hard work. What we need right now, in order for our restaurants to continue to thrive and grow, is talent. We have a brand-new chef coming in here; you're the first to know. Matt Gandin, our chef de cuisine who's been with us nine years, is leaving; he doesn't know where he's going, but he wants to pursue his own thing, possibly Mexican food. Dylan Montano is coming in; I'm super excited for this. He's been the chef at Manzanita, Traci Des Jardins's restaurant in Lake Tahoe, and has worked at Quince.

Keep reading after the jump to learn about what Craig Stoll has planned next.

Although she didn't win Top Chef Masters, San Francisco's Traci Des Jardins came pretty close to being the first female Master. After she shared a day of her life with us, she took a quick minute to chat about the Top Chef experience. Here's what she had to say:

On not winning Masters: At that point, Floyd, Mary, and I were ready for the show to be over. We were each playing for charity and each of the charities was worthy of the money. I don't have a killer instinct about why I didn't win. I guess my food simply wasn't as good as Floyd's food. I wanted to see a woman win it.

On doing more television: I love the Top Chef brand. I would do it again for sure. It will be interesting to see what else they do.

On her upcoming trip to Africa: I'm very excited! I've always wanted to go on safari in Africa. I'm going all over. I'm going to see the migration. The best thing is we're following up the trip with a week in Barcelona. It's just a great city; the last time I went the food was spectacular. It's so unique and local. The fish they have there, we don't have here.

On her latest projects: I'm working on a book proposal. It's really thrilling! I'm also still recovering from the filming of the show. It was very intense and took a lot of energy.

Photo courtesy of Bravo

At the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, I sat down for a quiet chat with one of my favorite food personalities, chef and restaurateur Michael Chiarello.

The chef looked laid-back, but debonair in a yellow sweater and formfitting black pants. We talked about his participation on the fourth season of The Next Iron Chef and his other upcoming projects, which include an iconic restaurant and live-fire cookbook!

To find out what he had to say, read on.

Chef Mario Batali is on the hunt for a new assistant! Not just any assistant, but a media production coordinator to be exact, and he's letting Monster conduct a vast and extensive search for the perfect candidate. Prospective coordinators can apply for the job from now until June 13; Batali hopes to have the person up and running with his team around July 25.

This morning I spoke with the eloquent chef over the phone to find out more about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We chatted about the rise of celebrities that cook, his upcoming projects, and the location of his next Italian emporium, Eataly. To find out what he had to say, keep reading.

If you watch any amount of food television, there's a good chance you've heard of Curtis Stone. From Take Home Chef to The Biggest Loser, there's nowhere this attractive Aussie hasn't been. Currently, he's busy being host of Top Chef Masters and a judge on America's Next Great Restaurant. We took time to get to know the chef, who's busy as the new face of Great Grains.

Over the phone, Stone — who revealed he's opening a new restaurant in Los Angeles, and talked about the highs and lows of filming — was surprisingly grounded and impressively well-spoken. He also addressed naysayers' criticisms that he spends too much time on TV and not enough in the kitchen. Curious to see what he's got to say? Read more.