My place in Chicago is a 105 year old house, but I really like contemporary spaces too, so it’s refreshing and fun to be in a space where you can do contemporary things.
The best way to learn is live, in person, cooking, feeling, smelling and tasting, but TV is the second-best thing to that; it’s a halfway facsimile.
Oh, did I tell you I have a cookbook? I have a cookbook deal.
Jay Leno is not a guy who likes change. He eats the same food every day.
One of the smartest things you can do on ‘Chopped’ is to take one of those ingredients and make a pickle out of it, because almost every dish benefits from that. I’m feeling like those intuitions are becoming more natural.
It’s very important to me that people who are actual chefs and other professionals in the culinary world, understand that I’m not, and have never held myself out as being, like a CIA trained chef.
For each episode the five of us are all wearing clothes by the same designer. It’s a different designer for each episode, but for each one we’re all wearing their clothes.
Sesame oil is probably my favorite condiment, period.
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 am much more interested in the process than results.
To me, the kitchen is a place of adventure and entirely fun, not drudgery. I can’t think of anything better to do with family and friends than to be together to create something.
Cooking allows you to have travels, adventures and journeys without going anywhere. The running joke between my partner and me is that I’m not really concerned about how long it takes, or how much I destroy the kitchen, because I just have such a good time doing it.
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 went in saying I wanted to be the food guy.
I think that curiosity happened on these reviews where I was just a guest of the reviewer, because it introduced me to new cuisines and to the idea of cooking as a mechanism for studying other cultures and understanding other parts of the world.
I really have a great deal of humility in that department, and a great deal of respect for people who spend their lives learning how to make these amazing preparations.
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.
If I have committed any culinary atrocities, please forgive me.
I think what I do differently from a lot of TV chefs is that I break down barriers and make fine food more accessible to the regular person, who might be intimidated. I try hard, particularly with wine, to make it not intimidating. It’s sort of a teaching job.
I had a really good time with Martha Stewart, who also is somebody I really admire a lot. I’ve learned a lot from her and I think all of America has, about attention to detail and using fresh ingredients and making things beautiful and special.
For me, the kitchen is the most special room in the house. It’s a place for adventure – not drudgery, but discovery, sharing and showing off with friends, trying new ideas.