It's okay if you finish cooking something easy after your guests arrive - some dishes must be prepared a la minute, as chefs say. Just remember to keep talking.

I'm really trying to respond to the foods that are in the stores and just pulling the things that are the very best and cook what looks beautiful and is seasonal. That's the way to go. I love going to the grocery store and the market. None of it's drudgery for me. Washing dishes is the drudgery.

Believe me, I understand the need for easy and speedy. After a 12-hour day of shooting 'Chopped,' say, I'm talking stir-fry, spaghetti, heck, peanut-butter sandwiches. But that's not about the joy of food. That's survival.

I went in saying I wanted to be the food guy.

The great mystery to me is how restaurant critics think they can get away with doing their job without anybody noticing who they are.

I cook everything. I love Mediterranean cooking, I love Asian cooking. I do lots of Japanese noodles.

Oh, did I tell you I have a cookbook? I have a cookbook deal.