The most successful person is the one who is most inspired. That is true in food and in life.

Sometimes I have a tough time getting along with myself. When I was a child, I needed a lot of attention... and I don't have a small ego. For me, appearing on a stage or presenting a cake is the same thing. You need a crowd around you to do it.

Repetitiveness and discipline are the secrets of cake decorating. The art comes from the meticulous technique, the way it does for a dancer.

After I quit dancing, I tried a lot of jobs. But I could always bake.

Pastry is different from cooking because you have to consider the chemistry, beauty and flavor. It's not just sugar and eggs thrown together. I tell my pastry chefs to be in tune for all of this. You have to be challenged by using secret or unusual ingredients.

I have a crusade against fondant, also shortening. There's no reason why wedding cakes can't taste good if you know what you're doing.

For months I've been working on creating techniques to reproduce Swarovski crystals in sugar using the real stones to guide me.