You go to a restaurant in the States and kids have these game boards at the table. You don't see that in Italy or Spain. It's not because they can't afford to buy them, it's because that's not what eating together as a family is about.

Food is very representative of a city's culture. In order to really get to know a place and the people, you've got to eat the food.

Growing up in New England, being schooled and classically trained, it needed to shake, it needed to evolve.

My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis.

We're probably close to reaching 2,000 shows, which is more than Julia Child and Jacques Pepin together.

If you don't follow your dream, who will?

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.