There are chefs who are spectacular technicians, and often their food is worth eating once or twice, but if there's no heart in it, if there's no personality in it, it's not something you want to go back for. But heart without any skill at all? All the heart in the world ain't gonna help you if you can't peel an onion, or if you don't understand how to apply heat properly. A well-done steak is a well-done steak.

I'd like to make a show with Keith Richards.

One of the things is challenging yourself to do a Rome show when everybody's done a Rome show. To find some aspect of food culture or chef culture that people can look at in a new way.

I'd learned something... Food had power. It could inspire, astonish, shock, excite, delight and impress. It had the power to please me... and others. This was valuable information.

I’m always secretly the most pleased when a show just really, really looks good and when my camera guys are really happy with the images they got.

Drink heavily with locals whenever possible.

The cookbooks I value the most in my collection are the ones where you hear the author's voice and point-of-view in every recipe.