Jeanette Settembre
Mario Batali has parted ways with the Big Apple for good, ranting, “there’s enough a**holes — I’m done with that town.”
The chef who was once a Manhattan fixture launched the tirade during his first public return to cooking on screen Friday, in a livestream of his virtual cooking show “Molto A Casa,” from his home in tiny Northport, Michigan.
He fled there after a string of accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, including rape, became public in 2017, ending his TV career and forcing him out of restaurants including Babbo, Lupa and Casa Mono, and his Eataly food markets.
Batali, 63, denied all sexual misconduct but quit public life until Friday, when he held a $50-a-head live cooking class on Zoom followed by a Q&A.
Asked by The Post in the Q&A if he would ever do live cooking demos back at Eataly in New York City, Batali responded: “Me and New York have parted ways. I’m done.
“It was a great town. It worked for me for the longest time.
“But now I live in Northern Michigan in a tiny little town of 600 people with a community of magnificent like-minded creatives all of whom think everyone in our community is a great assistant and helper to the full movement of the community.”
Then he boiled over: “New York, there’s a lot of great people I love most of them, but there’s enough a**holes in New York City that I’m done with that town. And I wish everyone the best there,” Batali said.
Batali had first found fame on The Food Network with “Molto Mario,” then went into business in New York with Joe Bastianich, son of TV Italian cooking fixture Lidia Bastianich, also becoming a co-host ABC’s syndicated show “The Chew.”
But in 2017 his career imploded over a series of sexual harassment allegations and an allegation of sexual assault at The Spotted Pig, the West Village restaurant where he was an investor.
A woman accused Batali of sexually assaulting her, while she was unconscious, in the gastropub’s alleged third-floor “rape room.”
He denied non-consensual sex but apologized to other women with a letter that included a recipe for cinnamon rolls. Critics slammed it as “tone deaf” and “insulting to his victims.” A police investigation ended in 2019 without charges being filed.
In May 2022, Batali was cleared of criminal charges that he groped a woman at a Boston bar — a major victory for the chef, who waived his right to a trial by jury.
On his livestream he was putting that behind him as, clad in his signature orange Crocs, he demonstrated how to cook bucatini all’ Amatriciana and spaghetti cacio e pepe.
The pony tailed chef greeted virtual viewers from his kitchen like he never left. “There are no mistakes in the kitchen – only the new and personalized dishes that are yours and yours only,” he said, before diving into the recipe for cacio e pepe.
“Welcome back Mario. You have been missed,” one fan wrote in the Zoom chat.
He fielded questions about seasoning with salt, using pancetta over smoked bacon and name-dropping a Iowa smoked meat purveyor, and the Eataly website, plugging: “I still love everybody and everything about the Eataly group.”
When a fan inquired: “What kind of wine is your favorite wine?” He responded: “I don’t drink anymore.”
“It’s about making dish that had something to do with Toscano or Napoli — I would drink the wines from that region.”
The chef also told viewers about his recent travels to Sicily, and his love for Stanley Tucci, whose CNN show “Searching For Italy” has made the actor a culinary star.
While Batali said he wasn’t going to return to the small screen anytime soon, he confirmed the Zoom events will continue: “This is it. This is where we’re going to be.”
Batali first teased his return on October, 20 when he posted a photo of red-sauced rigatoni on Instagram for the first time in six years and the caption: “Mario Batali Virtual Events coming soon …”
The Post exclusively confirmed last month the chef is working with veteran media producer Karen Kapnick for the virtual event series, with a total of 850 watching the livestream from his kitchen over three sessions at the weekend.
A rep for the virtual event told The Post anyone could join and guests are not “pre-selected,” and could submit questions freely for the Q&A Zoom, which Batali answered throughout the lesson.
The pony tailed chef signed off the 45-minute segment: “Above all smile – smile at people. Smile at everyone and be friendly.
“It’s a dark time. Including the adversity and tricky situations in life – smile at all of it. Joy is within reach and nothing is insurmountable.
“Resist anyone’s intent to separate us – the humans, the cooks, the lovers of our lives and most importantly remember delish is easily within your capacity. Be excellent to yourself and to others.”
This post was originally posted by NYPost
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