Joe Bastianich

Joseph Bastianich (born September 17, 1968) is an American restaurateur, winemaker, author, television personality, and musician. He, along with his mother and business partner Lidia Bastianich, co-owns thirty restaurants in four countries, including Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles, which the owners expanded in 2010. Earlier that same year, they teamed up with businessman Oscar Farinetti to bring Eataly, an upscale food and wine market, to Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and London. Early life and education Joseph Bastianich was born in Astoria, Queens, in 1968, to Istrian Italian immigrants Felice and Lidia Bastianich. His parents were born in Istria (now in Croatia) and moved to the United States in 1958 during the large Istrian exodus. While nationally Italian, public DNA tests have shown that Joe's family on his mother's side is largely of Eastern European descent, due to the multiethnicity of Istria. His mother has stated that she feels very Italian, but that she relates to her Slavic roots too. Raised working in his parents' Italian restaurant Felidia in Manhattan, he attended Fordham Preparatory School before attending Boston College, where he studied political science and philosophy. Career