Restaurateur After spending a year on
Wall Street as a
bond trader, he gave up his newly launched career and ventured into the food industry. He took an extended trip to Italy. In 1993, he opened Becco (Italian for "peck", "nibble", "savor"), an Italian restaurant with his mother,
Lidia Bastianich. He then partnered with
Mario Batali to open Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, an Italian restaurant that gained the prestigious three stars from
The New York Times, the first Italian restaurant to gain the award in 40 years. Together they opened seven more restaurants in
New York: Lupa, Esca, Casa Mono, Bar Jamon, Otto,
Del Posto and
Eataly (an Italian marketplace). In 2010, Del Posto received a four star review from
The New York Times, one of only five restaurants in
New York to win that award. Their culinary empire has expanded to 10 restaurants in New York, four restaurants in
Las Vegas, three restaurants in
Los Angeles, two restaurants in
Singapore, one Italian market in
Chicago, one Italian market in
Boston, one Italian market in
London, and two restaurants in
Hong Kong. After being accused of
sexual harassment, Batali gave up his restaurants, selling his shares to Bastianich and his sister
Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Otto Enoteca Pizzeria closed during the coronavirus pandemic. When it closed,
TimeOut wrote "it was the type of place that was nice yet casual enough to go on any night of the week with plenty of tables the white marble-covered
enoteca (offering wine, cheese and
salumi) and the more formal dining area focusing on pastas and pizzas. We'll also miss the olive oil gelato." Bastianich has co-authored two award-winning books on Italian wine, and his memoir,
Restaurant Man, became a
New York Times Best Seller within a week of its release in May 2012.
Television and
Gordon Ramsay at the
Fort Irwin National Training Center Bastianich was a judge on the American
MasterChef series broadcast by
Fox until it took too much of his time, and
MasterChef Junior until he was replaced on both series by
Christina Tosi in the spring of 2015 after he exited the franchise in November 2014. However, he eventually returned to temporarily judge Season 6 of
MasterChef Junior on March 2, 2018 and has returned to the judging panel as a full-time judge on
MasterChef since Season 9 in June 2018
. He was also a judge on the Italian version of the program.
MasterChef Italia shown on
Sky Uno for its first 8 seasons. In May 2019, Bastianich announced his departure from MasterChef Italia in order to dedicate himself to his passion for music. In mid-September of the same year, Bastianich released his first album, titled "Aka Joe". In late January 2020, he starred in a musical concert tour around Italy, featuring his "New York Stories" album. He has also guest starred as a guest judge on
MasterChef Canada on Season 1, Episode 14. He co-starred alongside
Tim Love and
Antonia Lofaso in the American reality show
Restaurant Startup on
CNBC, for which he is the executive producer along with
Endemol Shine North America. Bastianich also made a special appearance in the 2015 television film
An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success as a judge in a fictional season of
MasterChef Junior. From March 22, 2016, he presented, with Guido Meda and
Davide Valsecchi, the first edition of
Top Gear Italia. He also served as a judge on the judging panel of
Italia's Got Talent and Family Food Fight Italia, airing on Sky Uno in the spring of 2020. In a 2018 episode of
MasterChef Italia, Bastianich made several jokes at the expense of Chinese men to Asian women giving him a manicure and pedicure at a beauty salon in Milan's
Chinatown. When asked by the blog Grub Street for comment, Bastianich responded that "this was a scripted segment shot in a Milan nail salon that I've gone to regularly. I know the women, and we were given the questions to discuss in advance. That said, it's clear that some of what I said was in poor taste and not reflective of my views. I'm sorry I said those things." In 2024, Bastianich competed in
season 11 of
The Masked Singer as "Spaghetti & Meatballs". He was eliminated on "
Billy Joel Night". ==Restaurants==