Many of them have accomplished a lot before they ever get to 'Top Chef' although they're not well known. The show just provides them with a platform. There's just one winner and on some seasons you can get numerous chefs that are really good. Even if they don't win, they're all talented.

Once you have your basics down, you can start breaking the rules.

Every chef should have an understanding of pastries or desserts.

One of the first jobs I ever had was opening clams in a seafood restaurant, so I'm pretty quick at it.

Every season we try to do something new. And not for gimmicks. We feel the show has to evolve and keep changing.

I'd like to see 'Top Chef: Amateur'. Sometimes we have an amateur chef on the show and they just can't cut it against the pros but there are some great stories there.

Too often, chefs just want to experiment - they want to use liquid nitrogen before they know how to use heat.