25 Years with Lidia: A Culinary Jubilee

Go behind the scenes with Lidia and her “work family”. See the playful side of Lidia as she embraces technology with a new selfie stick! Hear what it's like to work alongside Lidia from the people who collaborate with her on her cooking show and cookbooks. What is it about Lidia’s work ethic and her love for what she’s doing that make others want to give her their all?

Beloved chef Lidia Bastianich is celebrating 25 years on public television. With one of the longest running cooking shows on PBS, Lidia is also a life-long restaurateur and bestselling cookbook author. In honor of her silver anniversary, join Lidia’s family and celebrity friends to roll back the years and get an intimate look at the memorable moments of her life, both on and off the screen.

One of the highlights of Lidia’s career, if not of her life, was cooking for both Pope Benedict and then later Pope Francis. Being Catholic it was, as her son Joe put it, “like … having dinner with Jimi Hendrix, Prince and Elvis Presley all at the same time.” Hear what she made for Pope Benedict and how the meeting went.

Lidia opens her restaurant, Felidia, providing a timeless Italian dining experience without any pretense. One of the few female chef-owners in Manhattan, at the time, Lidia created magic by serving up luxurious Italian food deeply ingrained with her own history. Hear what happened when Julia Child made a reservation, and learn how it catapulted Lidia into the world of culinary television.