Alex Guarnaschelli

“Scrambled eggs are so simple, but they don't wait or taste better cold!”

“Winter blues are cured every time with a potato gratin paired with a roast chicken.”

“You have a shelf-life on TV.”

“Who doesn't love a stuffed cherry tomato?”

“My reasons for becoming a chef are somewhat of a cliche. I always loved to eat but it was watching my parents cook that really served as the impetus for my career choice.”

“I don't show just anyone how to crust a sea bass. That's sacred information.”

“Once you make a cookbook, you live with it as your own for the rest of your life, like a yearbook.”

“Freeze herbs by stem and all - don't just freeze the leaves. It's better to keep them sturdier. Put the stems and the leaves together into a plastic bag, and just wrap it up and freeze it like that.”

“Red wine vinegar has some personality as well acidity.”

“I really love muscle cars. I don't think people might realize that about me. I really want to go to an auto auction and blow my life savings on a Camaro. They have such design around them, such panache.”

“I didn't harbor a huge desire to become a chef until I graduated from college.”

“My mom is a self-taught home cook, so books that offer guidelines on how to organize menus are critical to 'cook from the book' people like her.”

“I watched 'Iron Chef ' for years, and I thought, 'That's playing for the New York Yankees.' I made that my version of being Derek Jeter, and I worked really, really hard to win that.”

“I think that 'celebrity' and 'chef' should be a permanent oxymoron.”

“I love roasted beets with goat cheese. I am also a fruit addict.”

“One of the most practical utensils I can't live without is my 'Joyce Chen' Scissors. They cut with precision.”

“I am driven by ingredients. My Italian heritage and French training inevitably poke through as well, guiding my techniques.”

“I have to be honest and say that I never really feel like there's one person that I really want to cook for. I just want my food to always get better and always be evolving and for there to always be movement in what I make. I would say I strive for that more than anything else.”

“If I want my daughter to try something, I eat it in front of her repeatedly without forcing the issue and, with some trial and error, the world is our oyster!”

“I feel very passionate about maintaining the same level of standard and respect for the food as an Iron Chef myself.”