We are not blessed with junk food - my family and my kids do not eat fast foods.

I wanted to work in corporate restaurants.

I am just a regular dude who happened to make it. That's all I am, man. Maybe I was preparing myself in some lifetime to become this person, but I never thought I'd have every rocket shooting off at one time.

People need to take a little bit more risk.

I try to hike at least three times a week when I'm home in Sonoma County.

I get influence from everybody and everything.

Growing up in Northern California, I've only seen snow at Christmas maybe twice in my life! I was always jealous of my cousins on the East Coast with their white Christmases.

I can't bake anything. I'm the worst. My cakes always come out flat.

My parents were all into macrobiotic cooking and natural cooking, and my sister was a vegetarian. I wasn't down with that.

The wok is one of my favorite things to work with when I'm camping. Outdoor cooking is not just about hot dogs and hamburgers. There are so many styles of food you can make.

I'm a big greens fan. I'm a big vegetable fan. I'm a big whole grains fan. And I exercise a lot. That's how I keep this petite dancer's figure.

I have three wood-fired ovens... I have one at my house, one at my ranch, one on the trailer that I use for charity events.

I respect anybody that cooks. I know how hard it is.

After a show, people say, 'I bet you want to just sit back and relax.' No way. First thing I want to do when I'm home is cook.

It's tough, you know: I'm a chef first, and a restaurant owner, way before I was ever on Food Network, and it's a tough business.

I'm not an actor. Lord knows, I'd be acting if I were an actor. What you see is what you get.

I'm like anybody else. You get enough, you can get beat up. You can get hurt. You can get frustrated. You can get demoralized.

You don't have to eat a whole cheeseburger, just take a piece of the cheeseburger.

The wok is one of my favorite things to work with when I'm camping.

My restaurant, Tex Wasabi's, we have a whole 'Minute to Win It' challenge going on on Sundays already. The show hasn't even aired and they're already doing challenges where people are coming and participating. I think it's going to take over.

I'm a stocky 210 pounds.

I always wish for more time at home or at the restaurants or on the shows.

College students want good eats. They want it to not be super-expensive, but you've got to be eclectic, you've got to have style, and you've got to make real food.

Some people are just born to cook and talk.