I wish I could play bass like Larry Graham or Bootsy Collins. My God, I'd give up just about everything else for that.

If you're training in a combat sport, deliciousness takes a backseat.

What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?

Jiro Ono serves Edo-style traditional sushi, the same 20 or 30 pieces he's been making his whole life, and he's still unsatisfied with the quality and every day wakes up and trains to make the best. And that is as close to a religious experience in food as one is likely to get.

I'm not besotted with the notion of being on CNN to the point that I'm going to suddenly morph into Anderson Cooper or Christiane Amanpour. I'm not a foreign correspondent.

I wanted to write in Kitchenese, the secret language of cooks, instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever dunked french fries for a summer job or suffered under the despotic rule of a tyrannical chef or boobish owner.

I urge you to travel - as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to.