I Grew Up In Fall River, Massachusetts.

In The Restaurant It's Much More Serious.

I've Never Really Had A Problem With People.

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.

Home Base Is The Support System Where We Have A Culinary Team, My Own Writers Because Of The Shows And The Books And Stuff, We Have A Culinary Team Of About Six People. Marketing, Public Relations, Accounting And All That Sort Of Stuff.

When I Want To Kick It Up, I Like To Add Hardwood Chips Or Chunks To The Grill; It Adds Bold Smoky Flavors. The Most Common Woods Are Hickory And Mesquite, But You Can Find Alder, Apple, Cherry And, My Personal Favorite, Pecan.