The Gulf Coast has the potential to create a culinary raw ingredient paradise that smart cooks can capitalize on.

You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else.

I like cast iron coated with enamel for longevity and forgiveness if I happen to take my eyes off the prize while pouring Chianti.

Finishing food is about the tiny touches. In the last seconds you can change everything.

Everyone makes pesto in a food processor. But the texture is better with a mortar and pestle, and it's just as fast.

One of the most important leadership lessons is realizing you're not the most important or the most intelligent person in the room at all times.

As they say in Italy, Italians were eating with a knife and fork when the French were still eating each other. The Medici family had to bring their Tuscan cooks up there so they could make something edible.