Quotes from Lidia Bastianich

I develop trust, and I think it's the most important to my growth. If my restaurants are always full and my books sell, it's this trust.

What I do is my life, but it's not like I spend 18 hours a day, seven days a week in the restaurants.

In 1981, we opened Felidia, and the newspapers, the city papers, the big timers came, and I got invited on the 'Today Show' and so on. A lot of food luminaries would come to Felidia - Julia Child, James Beard, they all came.

My success is that I have these two great cultures behind me. One is Italian. I've continued to nurture that. But I also feel very American.

What I continuously remember is when I was a child in the courtyard with my grandmother and we milked the goat and we made the ricotta. The still-warm ricotta from our goat, on top of a piece of bread, and we used to sprinkle just a little bit of honey or sugar on it. That flavor, that stays in my memory.

I think a ricotta cheesecake is very easy to make.

As a chef, I feel that it is my duty to make the most of what the earth gives us.

The service of food is to nurture, to please, to nourish.

Food is the common language for all of us.

I think people make it too systematic in a way, like it's a chemistry formula. Food is not like that; food is very forgiving. Connecting and making do with a lot of the food elements can be fun and exciting.

I cooked for the two Popes that were here. Pope Francis I cooked for and Pope Benedict before him. Pope Benedict is German. And I did a little research - his mother was a chef.

Cooking for somebody is very personal.

Chemistry was my college interest. Cooking is about chemistry.

America has many cultures which makes it great, but it's difficult to create one strong identity.

When I say, 'Everybody to the table and eat,' I mean it. That is the glue, the center that holds the family, that gives security. Good food brings everybody to the table.

Eating is something we all have to do. When we sit down at the table, we nurture ourselves, and hence, all our resistance goes away. We are open to receiving good and taking it in with gusto and pleasure.

My evolution came not as a plan but as opportunities came. People offer them when they see you're doing something well. It's up to you to recognize them, take them, and then dedicate yourself to them.

My grandmother had a courtyard of animals, like goats and chickens. She made ricotta cheese, cooked with potatoes warm from the garden, grew everything from beans to wheat. It was simple, seasonal food, and we all ate what was produced 10 miles from where we lived. It was that way for centuries.

The Caprese salad perfectly represents the colors of the Italian flag. While I am not so sure that the colors of the flag stem from the cuisine, there is no denying that those colors do evoke a typical Italian plate.

Cooking is about the ingredients and responding, but risotto, specifically, is about the technique.

When we're filming, I sometimes look into the camera and wonder who's out there, who will be watching.

I had my first child at 21, my first restaurant at 24.

I started in the restaurant industry when I was 22, so I've had quite a long tenure, if you will.

That's the beauty of risotto. You can make it any flavor you want. It's a great carrier.