Most people who open restaurants will fail, because they lack the fundamental understanding of restaurant math. Either they think they're superstar cooks or they think they're superstar hosts.

At Babbo, each dish grew out of a conversation, trying to put something forth that was new and different. It was a combination of culinary adventurism and the dining-room experience with respect for the classic but with an eye toward innovation. And it was about eating locally, whether produce or fish or meat.

MasterChef' is the search for America's culinary amateur talent, so this is a search for the best home cook in America, and it's our job to figure out who that is.

I think a lot of people overlook the importance of the menu as a marketing tool and a way of communicating to the customer what the ambition of their restaurant is. Not only the typeface and the design, but what is it printed on? Is it cheap-looking? Is it the right kind of paper for that restaurant?

Steven Spielberg and I have tremendous amounts of money.

I don't actually have problems dealing with corporate situations. There are times I've railed against it, but there are other times when I'm like, 'I'll take your money, no problem.'

I don't want to be an oldies act, kind of dragging around on the road just for the money.

In Canada, we just have rich and poor, but we don't constantly remind poor people about it.