You start making movies and people start seeing when you go to places and all of a sudden you are getting clothes for free and all of a sudden you are getting food for free.

I wait for the next opportunity to have something to do with food. If I get rested my mind just starts creating new dishes - click click click.

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 started eating healthier. I actually gave up fast food. I gave up candy and potato chips and everything else. I started watching what I ate.

When I pair food and wine I start with the food. If I have a beautiful roasted bird I might choose a Cabernet or Pinot Noir or maybe a Syrah depending on the sauce and what is in my cellar.

As a chef I had started working with groups like Share Our Strength and various local food banks in New York raising money for hunger-related issues. And not only me but the entire restaurant industry has been very focused on this issue.

In my travels I also noticed that kids in Thailand like spicy food and kids in India love curry. I'm hoping to introduce my son Hudson to lots of veggies and spices when he's young. I say that before he's started on solid foods so it could be easier in theory than practice!

People come up to me all the time and say 'Oh I love to watch Food Network ' and I ask them what they cook and they say 'I don't really cook.' They're afraid they're intimidated they know all about food from eating out and watching TV but they don't know where to start in their own kitchen.

I wasn't passionate about food until I'd been cooking for a while. I started long before food became part of the mainstream media. I just wanted to cook period.

'The Food Network' was just starting in New York and I was getting lots of attention from Mesa Grill. They had no money so if you couldn't get there by subway you couldn't be on. It wasn't like TV was something I really wanted to do - but I knew it would be great publicity for my restaurants.