Batali's Humble Dream - Behind the Apron

In this frank interview with Slashfood, Mario Batali discusses his forthcoming vegetarian restaurant (yes, this from the man known for his love of lardo and other meat products), admits that his Italian food megacomplex in New York, Eataly, is delayed yet again, and reveals details about a new TV show he's pitching.

Batali also answered questions about his future with Iron Chef America and the "carnival" his life has become -- "dancing with Katy Perry on a Jetta was fun." Perhaps most surprising of all, the chef who has become a pop-culture celebrity as well as a celebrity chef said he dreams of one day letting others run his American restaurants while he moves to an out-of-the-way Roman neighborhood and runs a little eatery with 35 seats open only three days a week.

Sounds nice – when can we make a reservation?

"Behind The Apron," is a video series featuring news-breaking conversations between the journalist Allen Salkin and the biggest names in the culinary world. The series goes beyond the plate and into the lives of those in the food world who have become mainstream cultural icons. In a turnaround from his TV role as head judge on Top Chef, Tom Colicchio talks about his struggle to rise to the expectations of judges at the James Beard Foundation; Jose Andres gets political; and Jacques Pepin laughs about the social ascendance of chefs over the past two decades from blue collar workers into "geniuses." Much more is to come in this groundbreaking series.