You know, food is such - it's a hug for people.

I used to say I would never run unless I was being chased by someone with a gun. Now I'm a little obsessed with it!

You do it with your own two hands, so there's a sense of pride. You really do forget all our problems, because you're focusing on the food.

Whatever it is that you're successful at, that has to be the No. 1 goal. In my case, it's accessibility. So all of my products have to be usable, accessible, affordable.

I had the lunchbox that cleared the cafeteria. I was very unpopular in the early grades. Because I hung out with my grandfather, I started to bring my lunchbox with sardine sandwiches and calamari that I would eat off my fingers like rings. I was also always reeking of garlic.

Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home. I always tried to make my home like my mother's, because Mom was magnificent at stretching a buck when it came to decorating and food. Like a true Italian, she valued beautification in every area of her life, and I try to do the same.

Decide what it is that you are and then stay true to that thing. My brand is based very much on how I live my day-to-day life.