This weekend, Batali and a slew of top Italian and New York chefs are coming together in Manhattan for Identità, a three-day festival in which culinary masters are displaying their craft in cooking demos and dinners to foodie fans at Eataly, Batali’s Italian mega-marketplace.
“It’s is when all of my heroes come to town,” says Batali. “We do dinners, we hang out, we grab drinks, we eat burgers. It’s a very relaxing experience that also celebrates the goodness of Italian cooking.”
Among the participants are legendary New York-based chefs and restaurateurs Alain Ducasse and Michael White and Michelin-starred chefs from Italy such as Davide Scabin of Combal.Zero (No. 28 on the most recent World’s Best Restaurants list).
But after their culinary labors are complete, the chefs will unwind together just like many other hungry New Yorkers. “We all go to The Spotted Pig. It’s the best burger in New York,” says Batali (note: he’s a bit biased; he’s a partner in the establishment). “At midnight, there will be 30 of us eating hamburgers and drinking really good red wine. It’s a blast.”
Batali’s pal Scabin, on the other hand, prefers a harder beverage. “I like a couple of vodka martinis. With olives,” he says, via a translator. “Martinis are like boobs. One is not enough, and three is too much.”
