I've been cooking since I was 10 years old. I learned to cook in the boy Scouts over a wood fire, in the middle of a field where if you couldn't cook you didn't eat.

I started working in France in 1996 and fell in love with French food. In particular, Foie Gras, at once etherial, ephemeral and utterly addicting. It wasn't until I moved to the USA in 1997 that I started to explore the philosophy and technique behind both modern and traditional French cooking that remains a Damascene journey that I continue to this day.

As far as eating goes, I'll eat anything that is prepared well. When it comes to cooking I love to take the humblest of ingredients and turn them into something special... this is where regional French dishes come into their own.

The French Laundry 1999. My wife, Rebecca called the restaurant and told them that I liked Foie Gras. In the middle of the 10 course Tasting Menu the waiter arrives with 4 different preparations of Foie Gras...heaven.

Without a doubt, Thomas Keller. ..genius. After reading his French Laundry cookbook, I gave all my other cookbooks away and learned to cook all over again.