Part of my job as a food writer is to describe food. So my work on 'Top Chef,' I feel, is an extension of that. When we give a criticism to the contestant, we want to make sure we tell them why it's not working and why it would work if they did it a different way.

Whenever I'm in sync with the trends, it's always an accident. I still love wearing clothes I've had for ten years. I think understated luxury is the chicest thing.

Wine, like food, is so emotional. If you think about it, so much of the courting ritual is surrounded by wine and food. There's a built-in romance to wine.

I'm not tough. I'm tenacious.

Decide which you want to play up: your clothing or your jewelry, but not both. Let one be the star and one the supporting player.

In a way that somebody else converts to Judaism or becomes a Hare Krishna, I belong to the church of fried chicken.

I think eating in itself is the act of great sensuality, so all you have to do is point the camera in the right direction.