My parents both worked full time. I remember a lot of simple meals. Everything I know about cooking is self-schooled.

I want to be Jacques Pepin. I want to have a nice 50-, 60-year career. I want to be on PBS when I'm 70-something, still kicking it, having a great time, showing up in Aspen to sign cookbooks. I just want to have a nice, big, long career.

The concept of being a locavore, or one who chooses whenever possible to incorporate locally grown or locally produced food into one's nutrition plan, is of great importance

Nobody cooks anymore. To me, to watch your parents cook, and to have a house that smells warm and delicious, is a very vital memory that I think kids don't really have anymore.

Today's food trucks are far from cheap eats on wheels, there are some seriously gourmet offerings on four wheels.

It's never about the screwup - it's always about the recovery. That's the thing about it... if it comes out a little rare you call it carpaccio. It comes out a little overcooked, you shred it up and put in on a sandwich.

It doesn't take money to have style, it just takes a really good eye. Sometimes you can find amazing culinary antiques that will make it feel like an old French kitchen.

I just live life on my own terms. And I smile a lot.

Children, if they haven't been introduced to foods by the time they're 3 years old, are afraid of it, as if it would hurt them. They don't really get out of that until they're 6 or 7 - it's a safety mechanism, and you're not going to win.

I think food trucks are the new answer to American fast food. The idea of raising two or three million dollars and going through red tape to open a restaurant, there's lots of barriers to success. There's a really easy jumping place for food trucks. It's very hip and acceptable for new chefs to open a food truck first.

I don't think there's anything wrong with a hot dog or other convenience foods, as long as they're balanced with fresh vegetables. It's hard to ignore 95 percent of the grocery store.

My favorite comfort food would have be braised beef. You know, beef, slow-cooked in a Dutch oven or in a slow cooker until it falls apart with simple mushrooms, some onions and lots of fresh thyme and garlic.

Locally produced foods - defined as those harvested within a 100-mile radius of one's home - have a lesser impact on the environment because of the decreased need for transportation from source to consumer.

My wife and I love to host wine and cheese parties. They are simple and elegant and you don't have to put a lot of effort and time into it.

I love food, all food, everything about food. I enjoy going to the market and having what's in front of me - what's fresh, seasonal - tell me what I'm cooking.

Fruit often ends up rotting in the crisper drawer. Well, that's the wrong place to put it. Out of sight, out of mind. The kids all know where the junk-food shelf is. Make the fruit that easy to get to. Put a big huge bowl of fruit on the counter.