My passion for writing cookbooks really came from my love of collecting cookbooks.

For example, you can eat a Caesar salad and say, "Wow, I ate so healthy today." You forget there was a quarter-cup of oil in there, and all the calories are from fat. So it's better if you eat a grilled chicken breast, some steamed brown rice, and a little salad with balsamic vinegar on top.

Prep things in advance so that you don't have to cook everything at the last moment.

I think the most important thing when you are in a competition and you have, let's say, ingredients you have to use make something you did already because none of the judges, you know, probably had it in our lifetime, so I think do something you feel confident with, not something completely new where you are not sure how many hours or how many minutes you have to cook it or if the seasoning is right or if the combinations of spices and herbs are right.

What I don't like is breakfast in the morning. I have a double-espresso cappuccino, but no food.

I want to help build their basic food terminology.

I want to teach people how to do it the right way. And it is from that they can teach their children how to do it properly. It will teach them how to cook better and healthier at home.