If you've got a good idea and you're willing to do whatever it takes to pursue it, keep your head up and eyes open because you don't know when opportunity will come knocking.

I pay people very, very well - probably more than I have to. But that costs me less money in the long run because I'm not having to constantly train somebody. I pay them enough that they don't go seeking a higher scale at the next restaurant.

Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.

You know, not everybody can afford to pay $58 for prime rib or $650 for a bottle of wine. My friends and I cook for regular families who worry about feeding their kids and paying the bills.

I don't care what the haters and naysayers say. If they make jokes about me, I'll laugh because they'll probably be funny.

Stone-ground grits are wonderful, but because they take so long to cook, I usually go with quick cooking grits - which I also love. But I never make the instant kind - some things a Southerner just won't do!

Down South, even our vegetables have some pig hidden somewhere in it. A vegetable isn't a vegetable without a little ham hock.