Whenever I deal with children or the military, that becomes special to me.

When I'm on the road, I'll break my exercise into a cardio session and a weights session.

I travel 330 days a year and eat every two and a half hours - I'm a big guy. I always carry a fork, little bottles of spices, and Sriracha. I eat what I feel like eating.

What I learned about America is that anything is possible, but sometimes people get into businesses they shouldn't be in. They go in without capital or know how, but their mothers had told them that they could cook, and they're good with people.

The impression that is out there about me is that I'm really hard-nosed, but the people who really know me, know that I am a soft touch.

The culture of chefs is a melting pot, and I always say this - if we could put all the heads of state around a table, each representing their food culture, and then each take one bite of the other's and pass it to the right, and then explain the ideals and culture around those bites, our world problems would be easier to solve.

For years - especially in England where I come from - cooking was a subservient job. When I told my Dad I was going to be a cook, he wouldn't talk to me for two years. Even though it was associated with my military service, he thought cooking was beneath me.