Who makes the vest that Mario Batali always wears?

April 4, 2006 8:18 AM

On his shows on the Food Network, Mario Batali is usually wearing a lightly quilted vest when he's not in the kitchen. Who makes it and where can I find it? (examples follow)

Sorry for this weird question. I just really like the vest and have gone as far as trying to find a link on mariobatali.com to ask directly...

You can see him wearing the vest at the following places:
- Mario on the cover of his book, "Molto Italiano"
- Mario and his father(?) outside of Salumi
- NPR: Making a Meal with Mario Batali

Any help would be great! Thanks!

posted by cherryghost to clothing, beauty, & fashion (10 comments total)

I have a jacket that seams to be of the same color and material - the only visable difference is mine has sleeves. I got it at a local Army Surplus.
posted by nitsuj at 8:25 AM on April 4, 2006

I have a jacket that seams to be of the same color and material

Sorry for the derail, but that's an awesome eggcorn.
posted by dersins at 8:31 AM on April 4, 2006

Looks like a Barbour quilted waistcoat. Notice the tartan liner and the zipper handle is distinctive Barbour.
posted by crosten at 8:45 AM on April 4, 2006

I'm pretty sure the original was made by barbour (an old-school british outdoor-clothing brand)

A quick google for "barbour quilted waistcoat" brings up some very similar ones
posted by derbs at 8:46 AM on April 4, 2006

I don't think it's the waistcoat but the vest—looks to be discontinued. (Note the collar.)
posted by staggernation at 8:46 AM on April 4, 2006

too late :)
posted by derbs at 8:47 AM on April 4, 2006

It's really, really weird you ask a question about Mario. My co-worker and I are quite literally walking out the door to go get lunch at his parent's deli, which he's often at. If he's there, I'll ask him for you. If not, maybe his parents know? Either way, I'll do what I can.

What a weird, weird time to ask this.
posted by mattoly at 1:00 PM on April 4, 2006

Ok, so I had lunch (a boar-sausage sandwich on buttered garlic bread with mozerella and onions, yum!) at the place and asked Mario's sister, who was kindly making my sandwich. They actually have a copy of "Malto Italiano" on a shelf above the specials board, so it was easy to point and say, "Hey, where did he get that?" The answer is one I'm sure you won't like.

It was a gift from Federal Express for some promotional work he did for them. They're expensive and imported, other than that she didn't know.

She added that the best she could do, because "Mario doesn't 'shop'. If it wasn't for us, he'd be wearing the same shorts and shirt every day."

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

By the way, if you're ever in Seattle and you want a really, really good lunch, his family owns a restaraunt here called Salumi's. It's in the south end of Pioneer Square, near the stadiums on 2nd, and I firmly reccommend the Prochetta sandwich.
posted by mattoly at 2:21 PM on April 4, 2006

The ring-pull type zip makes me think that the waistcoat/liner you link to isn't a Barbour (I was looking at waistcoat and long-sleeved Barbour versions in the flesh the other day, they have standard zips), but if you go to any hunting and fishing outfitters or army surplus shop, there'll be a wide range of waistcoats like this. Most department stores stock this stuff too (whatever the US equivalent of Harrods, Selfridges, Fraser's or John Lewis is). So unless you're hung up on precisely replicating this chef's particular waistcoat, it should't be hard to find one.
posted by jack_mo at 3:43 PM on April 4, 2006

Hey everyone, thanks for your help. Special thanks to Mattoly for going right to the source! :)

I think that Staggernation found the exact one (Barbour Flyweight Quilted Vest). Unfortunately, I think it is discontinued. However, I found a http://www.sierratradingpost.com/product.aspx?baseno=54467">(kinda) similar-looking vest (doesn't have the same collar, though) for $15.

It's not the same, but the price was right and similar enough style (vest with quilted nylon ~ shouldn't attract a ton of dog hair like my current fleece vest does).

Thanks for all of your help!
posted by cherryghost at 8:24 PM on April 4, 2006