Growing up, I had a very busy social life. It wasn't until I was a sophomore in high school that I asked Mama if I could come into the kitchen and have her teach me how to cook something.

I wake up every morning happy for where I am in life. It's not all about the cooking, but the fact that I can contribute by using my influence to help people all over the country. In the last two years, my partners and I have fed more than 10 million hungry people by bringing meat to food banks.

I am guilty of buying way too many gadgets - way too many! And though I try to keep things nice and orderly, sometimes I get distracted and stick saucepans where the stockpots should go.

I can't, myself, determine what offends another person.

Don't ever give up. You can't let discouragement get you down. You can always find negative people that will try to discourage you from your goals. You can't be discouraged, and you can't let the word "no" stop you.

Cooking has always brought me a happiness that I didn't think was available. I just fire up the stove, and things start to fade away.

I love Hershey's chocolate. I feel the same about chocolate as I do about wine. Connoisseurs like dark chocolate and they like nasty wine that doesn't taste good to me. I don't get it!