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.
When I do a 30-minute meal for instance on Food Network that's my food you see at the end of the show and it's not perfect. And if sometimes things break or drop or the pasta hits the wall when I'm draining it they never stop tape. They just kind of let me go with it.
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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.
