The essence of Reality TV is all about drama. So, I think bringing pressure is healthy whether it's a professional chef or a domestic chef. Because the only way ever to really identify the true purpose of how good they are is submerging them under pressure. So I say it's no different than a live football game because it's about the intensity.

Running started as a way of relaxing. It's the only time I have to myself. No phones or e-mails or faxes.

I'm not critic-proof, and I still take it personally, but I take it less personally now.

Chefs don't do ponytails and we shouldn't do them because I guarantee that whenever there's a discovery of hair in the food, it's guaranteed it's from the chef's ponytail.

I was a naturally aggressive left-back, a cut-throat tackler.

It goes back to the early days in the kitchen where you would be tasting dishes all night long, so the last thing I want to do in the morning is eat. Chefs generally tend to be grazers.

Everything I learned and didn't do in New York I would put into place here in the London West Hollywood. It's fascinating, when you look at the critics' reviews, and we had a great one in the New York Observer and all that, and then the New York Times came and it was a devastation; two stars out of four. They said that I played safe because it wasn't fireworks. Then they judged the persona over the substance that was on the plate.