Unlike curing cancer or heart disease, we already know how to beat hunger: food.

I think that there is philanthropy and there is publicity. If you can marry the two to do something good, then I think it's great. Some of the other guys go around and slag people as a profession. That's not so interesting to me, because it's easy to take down, it's harder to build.

It's fascinating to travel around Italy and realize just how many different ways they make spaghetti.

I was at a party, and some squiggly looking dude with a bow tie came up and said, 'How'd you like to be on TV?' Turns out he was the programming guy at the Food Network. They had me come into the office, and I did a 'Ready, Set, Cook' with Emeril Lagasse, I believe.

I can teach a chimp how to make linguini and clams. I can't teach a chimp to dream about it and think about how great it is.

We need to figure out a 'harvest system' to collect the produce that stores don't put out for customers to buy because it's not perfect looking. Frankly, the stuff left to rot in the storeroom is more beautiful to me than the perfect carrot. I'm a gnarly carrot kind of guy.

The passion of the Italian or the Italian-American population is endless for food and lore and everything about it.