Joe Bastianich

Restaurateur Joe Bastianich is seen on the set of MasterChef Italia last week in Italy (April 27). I think I'd have a smile on my face, too, if I was holding that much Parmigiano-Reggiano!

You may recognize Bastianich from the U.S. version of MasterChef which aired last year on Fox and was won by 22-year-old college student Whitney Miller. Along with Bastianich, Gordon Ramsay and chef Graham Elliot were also judges on the show.

Bastianich just teamed up with Mario Batali to open the massive Eataly market in New York. The New York Post has more:

"The 50,000-square-foot space will feature multiple restaurants, including a fine-dining Italian steakhouse called Manzo, a Neapolitan pizzeria and a year-round rooftop beer garden and microbrewery, not to mention a cooking school and retail sections for everything from Italian housewares to prosciutto di Parma. "Italian cooking is less elaborate in Italy [than in the US] and that’s one of its greatnesses," says Batali, who notes that outside of Manzo, preparations will be very traditional in spirit. "The ideology behind the restaurants is more about enticing the customer to take [the ingredients] home and make it themselves," he adds. Enjoyed the stinging nettle lasagna with pesto and bechamel at the vegetable restaurant? You'll be able to pick up everything you need to make it at home with help from the staff."

Is anyone else hungry right now, LOL?