I Like To Keep Things Simple. It's

I Have A Lot Of Influences. I'm American-schooled. I'm Classically Trained. I'm A Pretty Universal Student, If You Will. I Have A Lot Of Degrees, Which Really Don't Pay The Rent. I Have Two Doctorate Degrees, I Have A Bachelor's Degree, But I'm Still A Cook.

I Came Here Because The City Has A Tradition And Is A Very Respected Food City.

When It Ceases To Be Fun, I'll Stop And Just Stay In My Restaurants.

My Inspiration Was My Mom. She's A Great Cook, And She Still Cooks, And We Still Banter Back And Forth About Cooking. Growing Up In A Mostly Portuguese Community, Food Was Important And The Family Table Was Extremely Important. At A Very Young Age I Understood That.

You Know, For 300 Years It's Been Kind Of The Same. There Are Restaurants In New Orleans That The Menu Hasn't Changed In 125 Years, So How Is One Going To Change Or Evolve The Food?