On the Road Again with Mario Batali

I like Mario Batali’s new show on public TV. I suppose if I dug a little deeper, I’d say I like Mario Batali more than I like his new show on public TV. But more about that further down the page.

Marcella Hazan and Faith Willinger are leading lights of Italian cooking, but I think declaring that Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and his mother Lidia, have wielded enormous influence over America’s understanding and appreciation of Italian food in the past twenty years, is at least defensible.

As business partners, Mario and Joe have opened good restaurants like the two Mozza’s in Los Angeles and Esca, excellent restaurants like Babbo, and controversial restaurants like Del Posto. Thousands have enjoyed Mario’s restaurants, but millions have watched him on Food Network. The “Molto Mario” series began awkwardly, as most Food Network series did back then, but it matured into one of the most enjoyable programs on the channel… Mario holding forth, explaining, evangelizing, cajoling his in-studio friends and celebrities (and his at-home audience) to use fresh ingredients, shop in-season, and enjoy the simple beauty of Italian food.

Mario and Emeril made Food Network – they were on the set almost from day one; perhaps they knew that eventually Food would tire of them. Now, most of Food’s shows feature emaciated, bird-boned presenters who must summon all their energy to open the bag of mesclun mix for their “semi-homemade” creations. Batali still has a place on the network – “Iron Chef America” – and his level of invention and execution make it possible to endure the ridiculous spectacle.

If you’ve ever watched “Molto Mario” you can see instantly that Batali is made for public TV. He combines education, entertainment, good humor and pure joie de vivre in roughly the same measure as Julia Child did in the days of “The French Chef.” (I’ve just refreshed my memory of Julia with 36 episodes from the WGBH DVD’s.) “Molto” wasn’t about food porn, it was about the passion of this big guy who loves to cook with friends hanging around, and wants to share what he knows. Like Julia, Mario’s show was less about flawless performance, than the joy of cooking, come what may.

Batali did another series for Food Network around 2003, called “Ciao America.” I think it’s disappeared now, nearly forgotten, but it shouldn’t be. Mario invited viewers to discover and appreciate the varieties of Italian food in America, with reverence and passion, without gimmickry. The first episode was about pizza and, to this day, I think it’s one of the finest public TV food programs never produced for public TV – not a mere food show, but a documentary. The only thing that approaches it is select episodes of Alton Brown’s “Feasting on Asphalt” series.

Mario has a new second home now, on public TV, and I hope he likes it enough to stay for awhile. Like most of you, I’ve seen only the first episode of “Spain… On the Road Again.” But so far, I’m charmed by it. Batali and Mark Bittman have goofed off on public TV many times before, on Bittman’s own series. Gwyneth Paltrow obviously cares about food, loves Spain, speaks the language; she aint deadweight. And neither is Claudia Bassols, who serves as the honest-to-God link to Spain, as well as lighting up the screen.

That’s a lot of star power for public TV. (There’s a risk that it might actually draw viewers.) Sometimes, it feels a bit too much, like those 70’s movies that featured busloads of Hollywood stars. But the producers have sensibly paired them off for separate adventures, allowing them to reunite at the end of the show. I think there are times where I want to see Bittman and Batali carrying on by themselves because the show would have more focus, but food/travel shows always walk a thin line when it comes to maintaining a focus. This series holds up well, with the first episode serving a nice mix of sights and sounds, along with visits to food producers and two bona fide cooking segments.

The production values preserve the aesthetic of public TV, but still manage to set a higher standard than that to which we’ve been accustomed. Public television has rightly resisted the food porn trend, but, in my opinion, it’s neglected the potential of more lifestyle-oriented shows to create a loyal cadre of viewers. Ina Garten plays gracious host on “Barefoot Contessa” but she makes good food, too, and shows how to do it. The educational mission is still there, with jacked-up entertainment value. Same with the new Batali series.

If Batali decides he wants to stick with us for awhile longer, we could do far worse than re-creating his “Molto Mario” vehicle, or sending him off another quest to discover American traditions. He has a lot to offer our viewers, and that can only be good for us.