Celebrated Chef and Television Host Lidia Matticchio Bastianich to Receive Honorary Degree at 2023 Commencement

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, an Emmy-award-winning public television host, bestselling cookbook author and restaurateur, will be the recipient of an honorary doctorate in humane letters and deliver the Commencement address to the Manhattan College class of 2023 at the Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 19. 

Bastianich has published many cookbooks, co-authored with her daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, as well as companion books to her Emmy-award-winning television programs Lidia’s Kitchen, Lidia’s Italy in America and Lidia’s Italy. She has combined two of her life’s passions, family and food, by creating many successful culinary endeavors alongside her children, Tanya and Joseph Bastianich. 

She is a member of Les Dames D’Escoffier and founding member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, two nonprofit organizations of women leaders in the food and hospitality industries. She is also a major supporter of the United Nations Association of the USA’s Adopt-A-Future program in support of refugee education. Bastianich is on the board of Arrupe College, a higher education program founded by Loyola University of Chicago for underprivileged students. She has helped fundraise for the UN Development Fund for Women and is part of the National Organization of Italian American Women’s Distinguished Board, an organization for women of Italian descent that focuses on preserving Italian heritage, language and culture. Bastianich has received seven James Beard Awards and two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Culinary Host in 2013 and 2018, along with numerous other awards and accolades. 

Bastianich’s cooking shows air nationwide in the U.S. on public television and CREATE, internationally, and on digital platforms including Prime, Tubi and Xumo. She is also a celebrated chef and restaurateur, and is a partner in Eataly NYC, as well as Eataly restaurants in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, Toronto,and Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

Bastianich’s most recent book is Lidia’s A Pot, A Pan and A Bowl, a companion to her new 26-part public television series, Lidia’s Kitchen: Home Cooking. She is also the author of the English- and Italian-language versions of her memoir, My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family and Food.