Paris Alston: This is GBH's Morning Edition. You may know renowned chef Lidia Bastianich from her numerous cooking shows and specials on PBS. Next month, she'll be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 51st Daytime Emmys in L.A.. She joins us now to talk more about the recognition. Good morning, Lidia. Thanks for being with us.

Lidia Bastianich: Oh my pleasure. Buongiorno, thank you for having me, Paris.

Alston: So you have received numerous awards and accolades, among them several James Beard Awards and two Emmys. What is special to you about this one?

Bastianich: Oh, well, it's sort of special, you know, because it tells you that you've been at it and you've been good at whatever you've been doing for a while. But what's special about this is that our food world is part, now, of the Emmy world, the world of shows, TV, day shows and all that. So I'm up there on the stage with great actors and personalities, and it's a great pride and joy for me.

Alston: Now, GBH's own Julia Child kind of ushered you into the world of cooking on television when she invited you to appear on an episode of Cooking with Master Chefs in 1993. What drew you in to this world?

Bastianich: You know, I come from — my mother's a teacher. I love to share because along my past story, many people have shared their knowledge, and I took it in, and it made me who I am. So, you know, it's my time to share my knowledge, but also to share the pleasure, the delights, the meaningfulness of sitting around the table all together, be it with your family, be it with your friends. You know, what food can really sort of bring, literally, to the table.

Alston: You mentioned earlier how fascinated and honored you were that food has become part of television in this way, such that it's being honored with Emmys. And I'm curious about your thoughts about how the landscape of cooking shows and cooking on television has changed over time, because now we have all these cooking competitions and things like that. Do you think it's just as exciting, or has it lost its touch?

Bastianich: Well, no. I saw it kind of grow and mushroom all into the big food industry TV that it is: Food Network, PBS — PBS, the public channel really started this with Julia understanding that food is culture, and that people need to connect and understand their own food culture and the food cultures of others. Now, what's happening on television? Yes. There's some buffooning about food and all of that. But, you know, some people like that kind of television, you know, they're not really there to learn. They're there just to have a few laughs and move on and, you know, see, maybe the cake being all on the floor. But I think that what the interesting thing about food is has how it has evolved. It's so important for the American people out there because it brings them back. Our food sort of took on — I went on a tangent — big industry was doing all the food. Fast food, you just gathered and grabbed and you ate. Now people are back in the kitchen, and I think that the COVID situation also has brought people back into the nest of the kitchen and the home, and the television shows really encourage it.

Alston: How does that perspective apply to social media? I'm thinking about all the different TikTok and Instagram food trends and recipes.

Bastianich: I think it's just carrying on. You know, the next media is social media, and I think you see all those recipes and you see people's personal experiences. And I think, again, that connects on a very true people level to other people. And food is — it's a message of love, of nourishment, of nurturing, of caring. So when we're talking about food, as long as we are not abusing it, it is positive.

Alston: Now, in October, Lidia, you released a book with your daughter Tanya, titled 'Lidia's: From Our Family Table to Yours.' And, of course, whenever you sign off, you always tell us: 'tutti a tavola a mangiare,' inviting everyone to the table to eat. What is a typical meal like at the Bastianich family table?

Bastianich: You know, it varies. I have a big pot of soup coming on. My brother wasn't feeling well, so, you know food for me is a messenger. It's also healing. It's curing. It's 'I love you, hope you feel better.' So at my home, it depends on what the situation is. Usually follows the seasons, certainly. You know, around the table, usually we do have an antipasto or a soup or a little pasta, or pasta sometimes is the main course. So it's, you know, we're very conscious. Lots of vegetables. The Italian cuisine is based on a lot of vegetables, legumes. It all depends on the season and of course, which of the grandkids is coming and what do they love? You know, do they have gnocchi? They love a linguine clam sauce? And I have two children. They're on their own.

Alston: They can cook for themselves.

Bastianich: Yes. But with my grandchildren, they're big, you know, they're 21 to 26, so I cater to them, but I also involve them to come in the kitchen and as they are on in colleges or whatever, I get a lot times, that call: Nonna, how do you make this? You know, simple things that they made in the dorms.

Alston: In addition to passing down recipes, you have also talked about how food can bring us together in difficult times. We know that we're living through extremely hard times right now. And whether it's the reality of the wars that are happening around the world, or even just the rising cost of groceries amid inflation, what's some wisdom you would give to people having difficult conversations at their tables right now?

Bastianich: Well, I think that, you know, every meal doesn't have to be, a 16 ounce steak, you know? Knowing how to handle dry goods — you buy a pound of dry beans and you make a soup to feed 12 people with the basics, some vegetables or whatever. And if you go back to traditional culture cooking, be Italian, be it French, be it Korean, whatever it is, those traditional dishes are really reflecting the economy as well, because, you know, those are dishes that were not invented or made or formatted when there was abundance. And at the table, when you sit down, you open it up, you care for the people that are there with you. You want them to live well, you want them to continue. And there's a peacefulness that comes through it. Because when we ingest food, we are almost on a very basic level taking in so we can survive. So our defenses are down. We are not fighting the food because we need it.

Alston: Now Lidia, as you are marking 25 years on public television, in that time, you have been really adamant about filming in your own kitchen. But do you ever get tired of all the cameras and the crews being in your space like that?

Bastianich: Oh yeah. Sometimes it gets over jammed and whatever. But you know, we know the time, it lasts, whatever, three weeks, four weeks. And actually, you know what? Because it's a sense of accomplishment. The whole team is there. They all have their own positive qualities which make Lidia who Lidia is. Lidia is not a solitary journey. It's a compilation of all of these people, whether it's my production team, whether it's my chef's team in the restaurant, with my family. So I need those people, and I feel good around them, and then I can't wait to get rid of them.

Alston: [Laughs.] Well, that is chef Lidia Bastianich, who will be recognized with a lifetime achievement award at the 51st Daytime Emmys in L.A. this June. Lidia, this has been such a pleasure. Thank you so much.

Bastianich: Thank you, Paris. Thank you very much for having me.

Alston: You're listening to GBH News.

For chef Lidia Bastianich of Lidia’s Kitchen and Lidia Celebrates America, cooking is an act of love.

“Food for me is a messenger,” Bastianich told GBH’s Morning Edition co-host Paris Alston. “It's also healing. It's curing. It's 'I love you, hope you feel better.'”

Next month, she'll be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 51st Daytime Emmys in Los Angeles.

“It tells you that you've been at it and you've been good at whatever you've been doing for a while,” she said. “I'm up there on the stage with great actors and personalities, and it's a great pride and joy for me.”

GBH's own Julia Child ushered Bastianich into the world of cooking on television when she invited her to appear on an episode of Cooking with Master Chefs in 1993.

“It was my time to share my knowledge, but also to share the pleasure, the delights, the meaningfulness of sitting around the table all together, be it with your family, be it with your friends,” Bastianich said. “You know, what food can really sort of bring, literally, to the table.”

The food television landscape has “mushroomed” since then, Bastianich said, growing to encompass informational cooking shows, competitions and various reality shows.

“I think that what the interesting thing about food is has how it has evolved,” she said. “It's so important for the American people out there because it brings them back. … Big industry was doing all the food. Fast food, you just gathered and grabbed and you ate. Now people are back in the kitchen, and I think that the COVID situation also has brought people back into the nest of the kitchen and the home, and the television shows really encourage it.”

Social media, too, can be a platform for people to share their food experiences, she said.

“I think, again, that connects on a very true people level to other people,” Bastianich said. “And food is — it's a message of love, of nourishment, of nurturing, of caring. So when we're talking about food, as long as we are not abusing it, it is positive.”

Bastianich is marking 25 years on public television. In that time, she has been adamant about filming in her own kitchen.

“Sometimes it gets over-jammed and whatever,” she said. “Lidia is not a solitary journey. It's a compilation of all of these people, whether it's my production team, whether it's my chef's team in the restaurant, with my family. So I need those people, and I feel good around them, and then I can't wait to get rid of them.”

In addition to passing down recipes, she has also talked about how food can bring us together in difficult times.

“At the table, when you sit down, you open it up, you care for the people that are there with you,” she said. “You want them to live well, you want them to continue. And there's a peacefulness that comes through it.”

That togetherness has been more prevalent lately with food costs climbing over the last five years.

“Every meal doesn't have to be a 16 ounce steak, you know? Knowing how to handle dry goods — you buy a pound of dry beans and you make a soup to feed 12 people with the basics, some vegetables or whatever,” she said. “And if you go back to traditional culture cooking, be Italian, be it French, be it Korean, whatever it is, those traditional dishes are really reflecting the economy as well, because, you know, those are dishes that were not invented or made or formatted when there was abundance.”

So what does she cook at home for her family?

“Around the table, usually we do have an antipasto or a soup or a little pasta, or pasta sometimes is the main course,” she said. “Lots of vegetables. The Italian cuisine is based on a lot of vegetables, legumes. It all depends on the season and of course, which of the grandkids is coming and what do they love?”