Lidia Celebrates Food, Family, and Faith

If you’ve tuned in to any of Lidia Bastianich's cooking series on PBS over the past 25 years, you'll know they are multi-generational affairs. Her grandchildren were always a presence, and remain so today. In addition, her mother Erminia, who passed away at age 100 in 2021, also frequently joined Lidia in the kitchen. Keeping her mom involved with the show was important to Lidia. During a Christopher Closeup interview, she said, "In today's world, the grandma generation is left behind, and it's such a loss for the children because grandparents have unconditional love. . . . They have life experience to share. I feel strongly about . . . being together. It brings strength to everybody in the family."

Those bonds of family were forged early for Lidia. The section of Italy in which she was born was given to communist Yugoslavia after World War II. As a result, the practice of the Catholic faith and private enterprise were outlawed. Lidia spent her formative years around her grandmother, Nonna Rosa, being around nature and learning to cook. And though they couldn't go to church, Nonna Rosa taught Lidia to pray.

Because Lidia's father ran a business, he was arrested and held for weeks by communist authorities. When he was released, the family knew it was time to escape from their native region. Lidia, her brother, and mother made it to Italy under the pretense of visiting a relative, while her father escaped through the woods. In his pocket, he carried a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that his mother had given him before she died. He had a harrowing journey, but arrived safely.

Lidia's family joined the many other refugees in Italy, looking to build a new life somewhere else. The situation was difficult, but Lidia was able to attend a school run by the Canossian Sisters. She recalled, "They took me in, taught me, but I also got a chance to work with them. They put me in the kitchen with the other nuns. I would help peel potatoes and whatever. . . . It was in those two years that I got back into understanding the Catholic religion and the whole gospel."

Catholic Charities brought Lidia's family to the United States and set them up in an apartment. Neighbors from the Italian Catholic community also supported them. Lidia reflected, "We were amazed that after being forbidden to do many human things . . . [we were able] to be free . . . to go to church, to speak Italian, and to ultimately become part of this wonderful America." Lidia's gratitude toward the U.S. led to a series of PBS specials, called "Lidia Celebrates America." One of its episodes, "Overcoming the Odds," earned a Christopher Award in 2022. Lidia explained that she wanted to highlight the opportunities that the U.S. offers from an immigrant's point of view, opportunities that led her to pursue her dreams of becoming a chef and restaurateur.

The new season of Lidia's Kitchen is filled with recipes from her cookbook, Lidia's From Our Family Table to Yours. It features four generations of her family's favorite recipes. Lidia also continues to rely on her faith to get her through life's highs and lows. She concluded, "I have my prayers, whether it's at night or the rosary, but I talk to God. Whenever I'm in a situation [that's] beautiful . . . I just talk to God and thank Him like I would talk to you. And when in difficulties, I talk to Him: please get me through . . . and get me where you want me to be. . . . So, I do a lot of talking to God."

This essay is this a recent "Light One Candle" column by Tony Rossi, Director of Communications, The Christophers; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.

Background information:

The Christophers