Word: batali
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Food is fad--it's gone the second we swallow it--and one day Batali's restaurants will seem musty and trite. But at least for now, Batali--partly because he is a man of catholic, unquenchable appetites--seems to know exactly what our overfed country is hungry for. (It's also not terribly surprising that a country where nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight venerates a large guy as a cooking icon.) Buford notes that Batali once flirted with an apposite motto: "Wretched excess is just barely enough...
Since he moved to New York City in 1992, Batali has become an ur-Manhattanite--a Bush-hating liberal, a partier, a good friend of R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. When I asked how he persuaded a middle-American institution like NASCAR to work with him, Batali answered, "I present a compelling case because"--self-conscious pause--"I'm fun." A year ago, a Rutgers classmate who is a well-connected NASCAR aficionado brought him to his first big race. On a lark, Batali and his friend had decided to throw a dinner for the drivers. "We handed out little cards...
...Batali and I were talking at a bar in Chicago. He was in town for the housewares show, where his display featured a garish, full-scale plastic replica of an Italian farmhouse. As we spoke, a hefty guy, beer in hand, walked over to our table. He introduced himself as a "firefighter here in Chicago" and said he wanted to shake Batali's hand. The firefighter's wife then came over--the first of an endless stream of fans who would approach Batali over the weekend. Cards were pressed into his hand; pictures were taken; autographs were requested on books...
...next morning, a pixieish 37-year-old named Darcie Purcell (whose business card reads "Brand Manager--Mario Batali") led Batali into a conference room to see finished versions of new items in his cookware line for the first time. A $100 risotto pan weighing an astonishing 12 lbs. came out first. "Wow," Batali said proudly. "You're not gonna be lifting this up with one hand." But there was bad news: the kitchenware chain Sur La Table wouldn't be buying the pan--"too niche," apparently...
...next item he was shown was a handsome pizza peel, one of those flat, round metal sliders used to move pizza to and from an oven. Batali looked eager...