Balance is key in cooking - you want a little acid, a little sweet, a little savory - the flavors should be harmonious.

Find combinations of flavors you love and buy the best quality ingredients you can afford. Your food is only going to be as good as the sum of its parts, like anything else.

At the beginning of the week, I roast a ton of vegetables so I can use them for the next few days. I also plan out meals in advance.

Ultimately, I realized that in order to write about food you need to understand everything about cooking, so I moved to New York and enrolled in the Institute of Culinary Education.

You know, I lose patience really easily; I'd rather shop in the grocery store than in the department store. I can pick an apple like nobody's business.

I love The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, an Auberge Property in Bluffton, South Carolina. Its a spectacular corner of the world, with massive old trees lined with Spanish moss, and alligators swimming in the river.

I eat for a living, so working out is definitely part of my job, the same way that the eating, tasting, and drinking is.