In '71 or '72 I returned to New Orleans and stayed there. I started cooking Louisiana food. Of all the things I had cooked it was the best-and it was my heritage.

I heard about the project over a year before we began. My American agent said 'Oh you might want to read 'In Cold Blood' because they're talking about you for Capote but the script's with Johnny Depp and Sean Penn at the moment.' So these things take their time to dribble down the food chain.

You can give men food and leisure and amusements and good conditions of work and still they will remain unsatisfied. You can deny them all these things and they will not complain so long as they feel that they have something to die for.

Life excites me-just little normal everyday things. Getting out of bed. Getting dressed. Making food. I find it all exciting.

As a freelance writer I'd be asked to become an expert for various magazines on any subject whether food or wine or history or the life span of veterinarians. I was completely unschooled in any of these things.

Doing things like playing music something that's so natural and basic to human function running around in nature eating delicious food. These things are intrinsic in basic primordial to human beings so that's sort of a way to return to a blank canvas allowing my true personality to return.

We are not really privy to all that crazy stuff that goes on in the show. I go to work eat and talk about food. The wild things happen when we aren't around. I expected Top Chef to last three or four seasons and we are now shooting season ten.

Asian food is very easy to like because it hits your mouth very differently than European food does. In European food there may be two things to hit - maybe sweet and salty maybe salty-savory but Asian kind of works around plus you have that distinct flavor that's usually working in Asian food.

Hunger is a political issue and there are several things politically that are keeping people hungry - not funding food stamps adequately not funding school lunches adequately. So there is a political solution to the problem of hunger.

I think the most wonderful thing in the world is another chef. I'm always excited about learning new things about food.