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.

My first memory in life is grilling my thumb to the griddle in our restaurant on Cape Cod.

The most essential part of my day is a proper dinner.

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.

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.

I don't think young men or women should feel pressured into marriage. You shouldn't marry anyone, in my opinion, who you have to try hard for.

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