Giada De Laurentiis was born on August 22, 1970 in Rome, Italy. She received a bachelor's degree in social anthropology from UCLA and studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. After returning to the United States, she became a professional chef working in several Los Angeles restaurants including the Wolfgang Puck-owned Spago. She started her own catering company GDL Foods and worked as a food stylist. She was contacted by the Food Network after styling a piece in Food & Wine Magazine in 2002. She is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian, Giada's Weekend Getaways, and Giada at Home. She has written several cookbooks including Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes,… Giada's Family Dinners, Everyday Pasta, Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites, Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California, and Giada's Feel Good Food: My Healthy Recipes and Secrets.
Mario Batali is a chef and the author of several cookbooks including Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes, which won the James Beard Award, Molto Batali: Simple Family Meals from My Home to Yours, and America--Farm to Table: Simple, Delicious Recipes Celebrating Local Farmers.