Television itself is an intimate medium. It's in your house. You're visiting with these people... Not everybody's going to like it, just like not everybody likes everybody on the playground. I mean, that's life - especially if your job is to just go out there and be yourself.

Whatever it is you want to do, take a job in that field. You will learn by experience and, slow and steady, you'll get it done!

You don't feel as self-conscious if your clothes fit.

My mom, who's been in the restaurant business for 40 years, is the number-one influence in my life. But I look up to a lot of people in the industry. Tops on my list is Mario Batali. My mom and Mario taught me the same lesson: Food is love.

My mom worked in restaurants for 60 years, and what I learned from her is a lot. But if I had to boil it down, take your work very seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously. Work harder than everyone else and never complain about it. Don't go to bed if you're not proud of the product of your day; stay awake until you are.

Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home.

NASA asked me to create meals for the space shuttle. Thai chicken was the favorite. I flew in a fake space shuttle, but I have no desire to go into space after seeing the toilet.