My American Dream

A heartwarming, inspirational, and revelatory memoir from the bestselling, beloved, and award-winning celebrity chef, Lidia Bastianich, told with all her hallmark warmth and gusto.

For millions of Americans, Lidia Bastianich feels like family. For decades, she’s shown us how to celebrate Italian food through her cookbooks, TV shows, and restaurants. Now, in My American Dream, she tells her own story for the very first time. Born in Pula in what is now Croatia, Lidia grew up surrounded by love and security—despite her family’s poverty—learning the art of Italian cooking from her beloved grandmother. When the communist regime began investigating the family, they fled to Trieste, Italy, where they spent two years in a refugee camp waiting for visas to enter the United States.

Shortly after arriving in New York at age twelve, Lidia began working in restaurants, her first step on a path that led to her accomplishing her own American dream: becoming one of the most revered chefs and businesswomen in the country.

A fascinating, deeply personal, and inspiring look at the life of one of our greatest culinary icons, My American Dream is a story of Lidia’s close-knit family and her dedication and endless passion for food that ultimately led to multiple restaurants, many cookbooks, and twenty years on public television as the host of her own cooking show.

About the Author

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is the author of thirteen cookbooks and the Emmy award-winning host of public television's Lidia's Kitchen, which also airs internationally. She is also a judge on MasterChef Junior Italia and Italy's highly rated daily program La Prova del Cuoco. Lidia owns Felidia, Becco, several other restaurants, and is a partner in the acclaimed Eataly. She lives in Long Island, New York.