If you get hungry mid-day, a banana is the best snack at your desk, after a workout, or in between classes. Fruit is a very good snack in general.

People come up to me all the time and ask how I stay the way I am, and it's no secret. The first lesson a chef needs to learn is how to handle a knife; the second is how to be around all that food.

In Africa, you have no clean water, but you have good food options. In Harlem, everyone can shower and get fresh water, but you often have bad food options.

People might not protest for overtly political or social causes, but when they can't feed themselves and their family, they will take to the streets.

I happen to love coconut, particularly for that sweet and crunchy texture it adds to any dish.

Cooking with your kids and engaging them in hands-on activities are two ways to begin to educate children about the healthy eating, and kick start the important task to help change how the younger generation looks at food and nutrition.

In Europe I couldn't be anything but a black cook working for somebody. My inspiration was to own, to be the chef.