"I guess I feel that I was following my instincts, and at the same time being guided by the best. I became totally intrigued with Louisiana - the people, the food. It is a part of my life. Everything that has happened for me since moving here has just been icing on the cake."

"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."

"Mom ran the house, so we grew up Portuguese."

"My family... always had the value of the family table and these cultural influences of growing up."

"It is a profound truth that an idea is a delicate seed; water it with curiosity and protect it from cynicism — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"An idea is a delicate seed; water it with curiosity and protect it from cynicism. This remains the cornerstone of personal mastery."

"It's coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It's not just climate change it's sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now."

"Bad news isn't wine. It doesn't improve with age."