I think the most wonderful thing in the world is another chef. I'm always excited about learning new things about food.

I opened my own restaurant when I was 17. I went broke, then traveled around the country, learning about different kinds of foods, had three other restaurants that went broke. It didn't all start just a few years ago!

Don't get fancy. Have you cooked an apple pie? You don't know what you did wrong? Do this: Take two or three apples. Put them on a table. Study them.

The bad part about being recognized is that when I walk into a restaurant and sit down, I've got to eat everything on the plate, whether it's good or bad. People would take it as an insult if I did otherwise.

Some people absorb in different ways. I didn't realize until I was 15 years old how much I retained.

Creole is New Orleans city food. Communities were created by the people who wanted to stay and not go back to Spain or France.

Cajun is country food by farmers and fisherman that arrived in Louisiana from Acadiana, Canada.