The album 'Kelis Was Here' sucked the life out of me, and so I went off and studied to be a Cordon Bleu chef. What's great about food is that it's less about who you know and what you look like, and more about if you're any good.
I don't really cook. There are caterers, and my husband cooks.
I started my cooking 'career' aged 15, almost 20 years ago. At the time it was quite a shock suddenly working 75 to 80 hours a week, without time to play football or other sports.
When I was in India, I felt like being a full-time chef was a very unique career path. It was quite the contrast from the traditional fields like engineering and medicine and not necessarily considered a full time profession.
At the restaurant, we strive to create an excellent experience for our guests, and in the kitchen, we could not do this without having access to the best ingredients, equipment and tools, including Victorinox Cutlery.
Being a cook doesn't necessarily mean you are a competitor.
Before any exposure on TV, I'm a real chef.
It's a 12-hour cooking class for me on the set of 'Chopped.' You'd think I'd get sick of it, but it's a source of endless interest to me. The only thing I don't like about it is it's a long day and my feet hurt. Otherwise, I love it.
You can't be a chef and appear on television all the time. It's impossible. At least when I earned my stars, I was always behind my stove.
The opportunity to be a star chef, to imagine it would be here in Las Vegas, I couldn't comprehend it.
I am in love with my La Cornue custom-made stove - it's a dream to use and my favourite part of the kitchen.
I'm obsessed with cooking! I want a degree in the culinary arts!
I came to understand that the words executive and corporate never belong next to the word chef.
If acting doesn't work out, I'm probably going to be a professional chef.
It's easier to write about Socrates than about a young woman or a cook.
Let me ask you: Who do you prefer, a clown organizing your menu - with all due respect to Mr. McDonald - or a chef? I do believe it's a very simple answer.
If you're a happy person around food, you can be a professional chef. It's fueled by passion.
I could lie and say my wife cooks for me, but she doesn't. My wife has never learnt cooking but she has great cooks at home.
My journey was never hard; it just happened. From the second I held a knife, from the second I was in culinary school, it's all felt too good to be true. 'This cannot be my job, my life. Somebody has to be kidding with me!'
I still love football, though, and I think cooking is like football. It's not a job, it's a passion. When you become good at it, it's a dream job and financially you need never to worry. Ever.
I have worked in kitchens since I was 15 years old and never had a break.
The cooking profession, while it's a noble craft and a noble calling, 'cause you're doing something useful - you're feeding people, you're nurturing them, you're providing sustenance - it was never pure.
I don't do my mother's cooking. Because I am a professional and she isn't. Even if she is a better cook.
Creating deluxe cuisine is like playing a sport. Always competitive. Always challenging. And if you slow down a bit, you can no longer return to the top level.
I've had the privilege of having a lot of amazing people cook for me.
