What were your favorite foods growing up?
My Mom always did a casserole with chicken and cream of mushroom soup with almonds on top and I always thought it was the coolest thing ever.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
Interesting thing, I attended a small private school that had a work study component and we only went to school for 3 1/2 hours a day and then had to get an internship/job. I started working on race cars at age 15 or 16 and when the season was over I ended up becoming the fry guy at a restaurant in my neighborhood. This all happened at a formidable time because I was then starting to look at colleges.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
My career began 10 years ago at the Buckhead diner in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
John Cusak in High Fidelity— he owned a record store and that was always going to be my back up plan.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
The answer is a combination of a lot of things but, the individual that shaped me the most was Richard Blais. I spent a lot of time with him and learned a lot— good and bad.

How would you describe your cuisine?
I consider my cuisine techno organic, which is a modern, clean, straightforward view of food that uses pretty ingredients with an organic conceptual nature.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
Everything around me is inspiration, which can come from a tree or a glass of whiskey or a meal somewhere. Experiences are what really drive me.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Pair of surgical tweezers and an immersion circulator.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
The Rosario white truffle oil and Banyuls vinegar.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
To remember that someone has to eat it so it can't be totally egotistical. The food has to make sense to someone besides the chef.

What qualities to you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Passion and cooking for a career as opposed to people who are doing it as a second job. I want my chefs to say I am a cook or a chef not an actor who is doing it to pay the water bill.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
A lot of the small plates are fresh and clean so there is minimal cooking, which makes for a lot of healthy fresh flavors that will be low fat.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Probably on top chef when I had to cook for Joël Robuchon because it was such an intense and stressful challenge.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
Cutting off the tip of my finger and being rushed to the hospital right before service.

What is your beverage of choice?
Van Winkle Bourbon.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
I think that this year BBQ is going to be really, really big. The new hamburger and hot dogs are going to have their day soon. In addition, refined chefs are trying to make their contents a little more casual and approachable.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
I eat a lot of street food and I wander around the Lower East Side and try and figure out what the cool restaurant of the week is and see what it is all about.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Let acid be your friend— embrace citrus and vinegar— they will really make your dishes pop and brighten up the flavors.

What do you eat when you are home?
I usually cook some pasta and toss it with butter and salt.

What did you enjoy about being on Top Chef? What was your favorite moment?
It takes a couple of weeks but when you realize the only thing you have to worry about is cooking and not paying your bills or any other worry you might have it is really cool. It gives you a chance to be in the moment and be completely disconnected from everything else and only concentrate on food and cooking.