What were your favorite foods growing up? Peanut butter, blue berries, Brussels sprouts, stuffed cabbage and cheeseburger

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
Right after high school

Where and when did your career in food begin?
In New Jersey, at local Italian and silly American restaurants

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
Not really sure

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
All the chefs I worked with had a direct influence on how I cook. And Alice Waters and all chef who cook seasonally and locally do too.

How would you describe your cuisine?
New American with European influences?

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
The seasons and what I feel like people want to eat

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
A sharp knife, a spatula and an immersion circulator

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Extra virgin olive oil

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Cook as if you were eating in the dining room

What qualities to you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Good skills, attitude, humor and knowledge of music

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
I watch my weight, and I eat everything. Order anything you want. Just don't have a big lunch

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
On a Saturday night, I had a 4-top of vegans who wanted a 4-course dinner each, and they were allergic to onions and garlic

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
My first New Year's eve as a chef was way too ambitious

What is your least favorite food?
mussels

What is your beverage of choice?
tequila

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
This is a hard time for trends, everyone wants comfort foods. I think those who serve honest food, well prepared, is always wanted

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
Celeste, Franny's, sushi of Gari, oyster bar, burger joint

Which foreign country inspires your style most? Italy and easten Europe

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
Pierre Gagniere in 1991, Le Cirque in 1989, Per Se in 2006

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
When cooking pasta at home and you want to cook the pasta ahead, but aren't going to use it for a few hours, with the exception of pastas like spaghetti and linguini, cook the pasta half the time recommended, drain, drizzle a little oil and let cool at room temp. When you add it to your sauce, it should be at perfect tenderness. For spaghetti and linguini, take off a minute or 2, and refresh in ice water for several minutes, just like a green vegetable

What do you eat when you are home?
Soups, pastas, breakfast foods, home-made pizza