You are going to be what you put in your body, so I try to teach that to my kids, and the kids around me.

You gotta have good olive oil. You should have a cooking olive oil and you should have a finishing olive oil, like an extra-virgin olive oil.

Everyone needs a mentor.

My family... always had the value of the family table and these cultural influences of growing up.

I had these recipes that say do this, do that. Who MAKES these rules?

My food is Louisiana, New Orleans-based, well-seasoned, rustic. I think it's pretty unique because of my background being influenced by my mom, Portuguese and French Canadian. There's a lot going on there.

When I first decided to open a restaurant, I was turned down by several banks. It was the late 80's and many restaurants were failing. I refused to give up because I knew I had a good concept.