'Kitchen Confidential' wasn't a cautionary or an expose. I wrote it as an entertainment for New York tri-state area line cooks and restaurant lifers, basically; I had no expectation that it would move as far west as Philadelphia.

My love of soft, runny cheese - it's impossible to resist.

Anything that improves people's expectations of a meal is good for the world. Anything that weans even one kid or one adult away from Chili's or T.G.I. Friday's is definitely a win for the good guys.

My daughter takes pride in showing up with stuff that other kids envy or are freaked out by, so I send her to school with grilled octopus.

I look at Guy Fieri and I just think, 'Jesus, I'm glad that's not me.'

Writing anything is a treason of sorts.

Cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards.