What were your favorite foods growing up?
My mom's chicken cutlets and her Sunday ragout with meatballs. It's clich but true. There was nothing better then waking up to the aroma of mom's sauce on Sunday.

What is your least favorite food?
Lamb. I can't take the smell.

What is your beverage of choice?
Vodka. Wine makes me sleepy.

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
At La Rosetta in Rome I was served a dish of fresh, raw sea urchin folded into warm bucatini with a glass of Fiano di Avellino. It was the most transcendent meal I have ever had.

What do you eat when you are home?
Pasta, home-made from scratch.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Go to the market and eat seasonally. Don't be afraid to experiment. Always serve food with wine and music.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
It began in Italy, with my family, continued in my parents' kitchen growing up, and continues still at the French Culinary Institute.

When did you decide you wanted to be a restaurateur?
I decided to quit being a lawyer after a night spent hostessing at my brother's restaurant as a favor. I grew up in the restaurant business; it's in my blood.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
I would have remained a lawyer. No, who am I kidding? I would be a ballroom dancer.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Italian cuisine is really "cucina della donna" My mother is one of ten children and they are all incredible cooks. I learn something and get inspired every time I go to see them in Italy.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
My hands, they are all I need to make pasta.

What influences your cooking style?
Everything, we are in Manhattan; the mecca for great food. I'm always curious to see what other people are creating.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Pasta water; it ties together the perfect sauce.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Italy!

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
If you're at Anthos, you can order the Raw Meze (a selection of 5 bites of raw fish with different seasonal garnishes) and the poached chicken and feel completely guiltless.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you are eating?
Sushi Yasuda

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What are some recent dining and culinary trends you
have been observing?
Chefs making their cuisine more accessible, affordable and more casual.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
I made an intimate dinner at my apartment once for some writers and editors from a national food magazine; that was very nerve-racking.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
You name it and it's happened to me; blackouts, floods, fires in the kitchen, rain coming from the ceiling "there's never a dull moment in the restaurant business."

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Loyalty. I can forgive anything but disloyalty.