You have to be generous if you want to spend your time making someone else dinner. Even if you're charging, you're still giving.
Mario BataliMy kids and I make pasta three days a week now. It's not even so much about the eating of it; they just like the process. Benno is the stuffer, and Leo is the catcher. They've got their jobs down.
Mario BataliFind something you love, because if you love what you do, you'll never spend a day at work.
Mario BataliI would challenge any American cook, regardless of what they've learned from their mom, to operate a restaurant and not have spent any real time in Italy.
Mario BataliDay-old bread? Sadly, in America a lot of day-old bread just becomes nasty. Italian day-old bread, not having any preservatives in it, just becomes harder and it doesn't taste old. What I would warn people about is getting bread that's loaded with other things in it, because it starts to taste old.
Mario Batali