It's more intimate. Food can connect people in a forever sort of way.

I love to do yoga, even if it means getting up at 5:30 in the morning. It helps me breathe and stop all the chatter in my head. That can help you get through everything.

Many chefs of a certain caliber do not see me as a chef. I don't have a restaurant. They see me as a TV food personality, not a chef. I've gotten respect, trust me, they respect me, but I think that I can't hit that particular level of respect from them until I have a successful Vegas restaurant that not only makes money but creates unbelievable food and a fabulous experience. I don't think people think I can cook, and they don't think I know what the hell I'm doing.

I think you can tell the food is close to my heart, too, because I'm doing what I do best.

Opportunities present themselves and you have to enjoy the ride. All of us get so worried about the next step that we don't enjoy the moment we're in right now.

Pasta doesn't make you fat. How much pasta you eat makes you fat.

It's almost ingrained in people that, just like you can't be a smart model, you can't be a good-looking cook.