Mario Batali shares a few words -- and some food -- with Michael Waltrip. Credit: Contributed Photo

Conversation: Batali

Cooking star's latest book all about NASCAR tailgating

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Mario Batali gives new meaning to the term, "Big Orange."

With his trademark orange clogs paired with a matching smock and beard, it's tough to imagine that Batali wouldn't command attention no matter what he did for a living.

As it happens, he's one of the world's top chefs, with several prestigious restaurants in eatery-crazy New York City, more on the way in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and three successful TV shows on the Food Network.

Now, he's entered the NASCAR ring, with the release of his fifth book, entitled Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style.

In between autograph signings for the book, Batali took a few minutes to talk with NASCAR.COM's Mark Spoor about his love of NASCAR, some stories from the infield and how he became an expert on the golden age of Spanish theatre.

Batali says fans shouldn't be afraid to come to the racetrack with a lot of food already prepared. Credit: Contributed Photo

MARIO TAILGATES With easy recipes and clear, simple instructions, Mario Tailgates NASCAR® Style is a source for tailgating for fans around the country. Included are ideas for breakfast, appetizers, main courses, desserts, and drinks, all incorporating ingredients found in almost any market.   •   Order your copy,  click here What's the secret to preparing the perfect burger for tailgating? Mario Batali shares the scoop in his special column for NASCAR.COM.  •   Complete story, click here

Q: First of all, I have to ask you about all the orange. There's got to be a story about that.

Batali: My wife gave me orange shoes and someone said that it looked good on me in a printed article like 10 years ago and I never stopped wearing them.

Q: So why a NASCAR cookbook?

Batali: I love NASCAR. I think a lot of the people who like what I do love NASCAR and I think tailgating is a fascinating component of the world of food and it's fun. A lot of people say, "Well, is this a sellout?" I represent good food on every level and having as much fun as you can possibly have in life -- and NASCAR is that.

When I come to a NASCAR event, it's like being at Woodstock, Lollapalooza and the Iowa State Fair all rolled up into one and if I can capture that and more people can understand that, it's a great thing.

Q: Have you ever walked by somebody at a NASCAR event and saw what they were cooking and thought ...

Batali: That's not what I expected?

Q: Exactly.

Batali: Oh, all the time! The first time I had seen something like that, they had grilled an entire prime rib and served it with these fried potatoes that we would call Pommes Soufflé -- fried bubbles of potatoes. I was like, "How do you make that?" They showed me how to make it. That's a fancy, fancy dish and these folks were having it at 4 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon with a bunch of beer.

It was like, 'Wow. That's impressive.'

They have, like, full-on daiquiri tap machines on peoples' trailers and tents. They have, like -- much fancier than you see in fancy bars -- all set up at their house. That's pretty impressive.

Q: If you could give NASCAR fans one tip for their tailgating, what would it be?

Batali: Don't be afraid to have food that's almost prepared from your house. Make sure you do all your marinating before you get there, make sure you have a nice hot grill and everything will work out fine.

Q: You've been a NASCAR fan for a long time?

Batali: Well, when I was growing up, we didn't have a NASCAR track so I would follow SIR -- Seattle International Raceway -- and there was a lot of drag racing, which isn't exactly the same, but it's kind of the same.

NASCAR's more interesting because it's more than the 6-second burst, it's a whole weekend.

Q: Do you have a driver that you like or drivers that you like?

Batali: I like [Michael] Waltrip. I like Jimmie Johnson. I like Jamie McMurray.

Q: What do you like about them?

Batali: You know what? We've done these driver dinners. We did one at Pocono, we did one at Bristol and we did one at Dover and we just invited some drivers over -- not to try to sell them anything or anything -- and they were the first ones to come over and say 'Hey, this is really delicious food' and we just talked.

I don't know enough about the actual driving or the mechanical components of the cars. That goes on no other basis than meeting them and satisfaction of their personality.

Q: Iron Chef America is a very popular show. What's it like to compete on that?

Batali: You're fighting. You're fighting not to lose. You're fighting to win. You really don't know the [secret] ingredient, you really only have one hour and they really judge you. It's real. I love it.

Q: Have you ever gotten angry thinking that you should have won and you didn't win?

Batali: Oh, no. Every now and then I disagree with what a judge says, only because I don't think they understood what I was trying to do. But still, you're just being judged and that's what it is. I'm happy. I have a good record.

If I lost too much, I'd probably get fired, so I don't want to lose.

Q: I read somewhere that you studied the golden age of Spanish theatre at Rutgers. Explain that.

Batali: I went to high school in Spain. The year Franco died -- 1975 -- my family moved there, so I lived there until 1978. I was fascinated with Spanish culture, fascinated with everything about Spain -- the language, the people, the geography, the history of its literature and that was just something that was really interesting at my school.

I had a really interesting professor at Rutgers who was really informed about it and I studied it for four years -- a genius guy.

Q: Do you follow Rutgers sports?

Batali: If you can call it that. The year before I was there "Jammin'" James Bailey was there and they went to the NITs, right? Since then there has been nothing before this year's bowl. Women's basketball's always been great, but I don't really like women's basketball.