Spice is life. It depends upon what you like... have fun with it. Yes, food is serious, but you should have fun with it.

Cooking is so popular today because it's the perfect mix of food and fun.

The world has changed, and it's almost been 11 years. I have 975 employees. I have six restaurants. We haven't opened any new ones in almost three years.

I've always done food that can work in a set time frame. The message I'm trying to get across is, it doesn't have to take three days to do this. With planning, you can do a lot and really have quality food every day.

Whether it's books or TV, or whatever the case may be, the backbone of what I do is my restaurants.

What I go for in my cooking is sinful, bold and real.

My inspiration was my mom. She's a great cook, and she still cooks, and we still banter back and forth about cooking. Growing up in a mostly Portuguese community, food was important and the family table was extremely important. At a very young age I understood that.