Bill Buford

Bill Buford is a writer who works for the New Yorker. Bill also is the founding editor of Granta magazine and publisher of Granta Books. Several years ago, Bill met Mario Batali, a famous New York chef, and convinced him to let Bill work in his kitchen at Babbo. Bill had always been a weekend chef but wanted to learn how the professionals do it. At Babbo, Bill discovered he had to start at he beginning again, learning how to use a knife and how to cut vegetables. Bill moved quickly through the ranks of the kitchen, however, learning the grill and the pasta station before leaving to learn how to make pasta in the kitchen of a true Italian matriarch.

Bill went to Italy and learned to make pasta from Batali's teacher, Betta. Betta taught Bill things she had refused to teach Batali because she was...