Word: batali
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...Batali, who was signing a book for the woman: "Only above the table, madam...
After the book signing, Batali would fly home to New York City. His plane late, he would miss the private HBO screening of The Sopranos at Manhattan's Ziegfeld Theater. But he would make the premiere of Ring of Fire, the Johnny Cash musical on Broadway. Batali would then have drinks at the wrap party after the play; he got home around 1 a.m. A few hours later, he would get up early to take his boys, 7 and 9, to school. (Batali and his wife Susi Cahn live in Manhattan...
...that the inevitable Falstaff comparison seems inadequate. All that saffron in the soup--that's where he's showing weakness, I decided. So busy being a star that he's sloppy in the kitchen. To test the theory, back in Chicago I had sneaked into the prep area after Batali had left the crowd standing in applause. I found a cook named Kirsten West who had prepped the ingredients for the demo. "How's the soup?" I asked...
This is Mario Batali's moment. Often it's difficult to pinpoint the instant a man becomes a brand. Typically you can identify that moment in retrospect--for instance, if you look at the other stars in the food universe, you could argue that Lagasse became something larger, an uberversion of himself, nearly a decade ago, when his management team literally trademarked his expressions "BAM!" and "Kick it up a notch." You can also predict a branding; with her new magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray, the unnaturally perky Ray--who plays a flibbertigibbet on her show 30 Minute Meals...
...Batali is becoming a brand virtually as you read this. This week he will make the rounds of morning talk shows to promote his new role as the official chef of NASCAR and his new cookbook, Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style. And just as he prepares for cooking demos and book signings at six NASCAR races this season, Batali and business partner Joseph Bastianich, 37, have begun construction on two restaurants in Las Vegas and another site in Los Angeles to be called Mozza that will house both a restaurant and a pizzeria. In July, Batali will launch 78 new items...