Joe Bastianich: Masterchef
By: Judith Wallace
One of America’s premier restaurateurs, Joe Bastianich – along with partners Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich – has established some of the country’s most celebrated restaurants in New York, including the legendary Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, Lupa Osteria Romana, Esca, Casa Mono, Bar Jamόn, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria and the much-storied Del Posto. This season, Joe joins Graham Elliot as judge on FOX popular culinary series, Masterchefs.
Bastianich is an accomplished author whose passion for the culinary arts has been recognized with professional awards from Bon Appétit magazine and the James Beard Foundation. Bastianich’s highly anticipated memoir, “Restaurant Man,” is scheduled for release in spring 2012.
MASTERCHEF TUESDAYS ON FOX
What was the purpose of your mom being on the show?
Joe Bastianich: Well, it was that all mom’s out and they basically tried to serve a menu that would impress our moms and the moms actually chose the winning team. It was pretty amazing. I was just happy that my mother didn’t smack me.
What is your bad habit in the kitchen?
Joe Bastianich: Well, since I don’t cook, I go into the kitchen and harass the cooks and throw things at them and eat food out of their pan, so they generally don’t like that.
What is your judging style?
Joe Bastianich: I take that with a dash of humility because I’m certainly not on expert on every cuisine of the world, like Indian and maybe, Mexican. So I try to step back from what I’m not terribly familiar with and have the experience and maybe let Graham and Gordon lead on those kinds of foods. Where I do have experience, maybe Italian or Asian or other types of food, I’m really looking for dishes that do more than just satisfy my palate. You have to be able to communicate your passion and a little bit of who you are on the plate. So, it’s a combination of being a commutative cook and also of having great skills and techniques and being able to cook tasty foods.
Is there room for cockiness or combative attitude in the kitchen?
Joe Bastianich: Well, I mean I think, that what you really need to know about what we do is still an apprenticeship business—one of the few things in the world where people actively apprentice and I think that somehow I view MasterChef as an apprenticeship. We kind of take a journey with these guys and commit months and months to stay with them and see who becomes the next MasterChef. So, they become part of our experience and we’re not there only to judge them, but we’re also there to cultivate them and to tutor them and to bring them along.If I’m going to take this journey with you, I want you to be the kind of person who’s open, who’s listening, who’s sensible, who wants to be there and really appreciate the tutelage and appreciate the journey that I take with me, Graham, and Gordon. So, really, there’s not much space for cockiness in the restaurant or in the kitchen and that’s something we try to bet out right off the bat. So, if we’re kind of short to the cut with people who come in with a lot of attitude, that’s the reason why. We don’t want to deal with that.
The talent level has improved, are you pleased?
Joe Bastianich: Well, I think we were lucky with the success we had in Season 1 that it would cast a wider net. So, I think we were expecting to raise the bar, but it was happily raised to a level that I don’t think any of us anticipated, so it was a pleasant surprise.
What is the worst food crime that any of the contestants can commit that will guarantee them getting voted off?
Joe Bastianich: Yikes, well, a couple of the big multiple infractions are under-seasoning, not using salt, leaving raw wine in food is always big offender.
How do you manage your many jobs and projects?
Joe Bastianich: Well, very carefully. I mean, I try to interlay them over each other, so like if I’m here in Italy shooting MasterChef Italy, I’m also doing triathlons and making wine at the same time. Or, if I’m in L.A. doing MasterChef, I’m at my restaurant or opening a new restaurant. I just try to keep it real, try to keep my days full and try to pursue hobbies that really interrelate with each other, so running and swimming and biking allows me to eat, which allows me to drink wine, which allows me to be a judge on MasterChef and it all comes out in the soup.
Do you currently employ past contestants?
Joe Bastianich: Yes. I’ve hired several of them in the restaurants. They work for me.