I'm a professional cook. I've worked with other cooks from all over the world, but my family is not that way - they're always lived within 25 miles of my hometown!

One of the problems of our youth is that the family unit is broken up. When we'd sit down to dinner together as a family, we'd learn about each other. We had something people don't get today.

My mother would put me on a wooden box at the stove and tell me to call her if certain things would happen. Like if the steam turns blue, that is danger!

I would work as a cook, get a little money, then open another restaurant.

We closed the restaurant in New Orleans and brought the entire staff to San Francisco. But we had to go home.

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

We trust something in a grocery store and assume it's good. We don't learn about the most precious thing in life-the food we put in our body. Educate yourself!