Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home. I always tried to make my home like my mother's because Mom was magnificent at stretching a buck when it came to decorating and food. Like a true Italian she valued beautification in every area of her life and I try to do the same.
My mom who's been in the restaurant business for 40 years is the number-one influence in my life. But I look up to a lot of people in the industry. Tops on my list is Mario Batali. My mom and Mario taught me the same lesson: Food is love.
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I would say stay the hell away from the party scene. Anything you put in front of your goal and especially something like that whether it's too much gambling too much food too much cold beers on the weekend – anything that you put in front of the prize is going to end up getting in the way and hurting you in the end.
