Word: batali
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...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...
...huge pizza oven ... So let's make sure we have 20 of them there, and we can use them all day." Turning your restaurant into a marketing tool works if you're Hard Rock Cafe, but it isn't clear how well it works at the high end. Batali seems to have few qualms: when an assortment of spoons, turners, ladles and skimmers is shown for his approval, Batali says, "All of this will be on display at Mozza in Los Angeles, and it will sell infinitely...
Confidence is a requirement of someone who works with flame, but Batali sometimes slips into an overconfident caricature, the boor at the center of the room. Later that night he will tell Lagasse about a poorly attended cooking demo he did at last year's housewares show for a distracted crowd. It had been a running joke this weekend that few people had come last year, but now Batali let loose: "I'm like, 'Do you know how much people in New York would pay to f______ stand where you're standing?'" Batali was giggling, and everyone doubled over...
Back in the product meeting, someone suggests selling a Batali apron "at a stand in your restaurants." Finally, Batali draws the line at marketing himself...