What were your favorite foods growing up?
I adored the homemade sweets and all the Middle Eastern classics my mother would make by hand, especially homemade yogurt.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
When I spent a year in France when I was 24, the lure of the lifestyle and how food and wine was an integral part of everyday life.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
I started cooking professionally in 1983 at Le Cirque Restaurant two days after graduating from CIA.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
Concert pianist

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Alain Shailac whom I worked under at Le Cirque for 5 years

How would you describe your cuisine?
Modern yummy.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
I am all about simple, simple, simple, coupled with great execution, full flavors and a few well placed surprises.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Spice blends, reduced vegetable and poultry juices

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Lemon juice or chardonnay vinegar

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Taste, taste, taste! Before, during and after cooking.

What qualities to you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Passion, work ethic, humility

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
I eat what I want and exercise every day, so the question is not relevant, however, if it were relevant, I would order leafy greens to start, and grilled striped bass with fresh lemon, double espresso, and two biscotti as a treat.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Cooking at the Oscar party at Mortons restaurant, very difficult to cook a five course French meal in a steakhouse with no equipment.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
Well it was not meal related, but once a fight broke out in my open kitchen at Country, at the same time the NYTimes critic, Frank Bruni was dining, literally 25 feet away. Somehow we managed to tackle the two protagonists and wrestle them to the ground before he noticed...whew! Thought we were in for the worst. The next week we were rewarded three stars! Go figure...

What is your least favorite food?
I am not a huge fan of sushi, I think it's an excuse for not cooking.

What is your beverage of choice?
Red Burgundy

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
While I disdain the word trends, I do think that small wine and tapas bars are gaining in creativity and depth. They are not just an afterthought and are really becoming attractive dinner stops when you want one or two small courses...they also tend to be small and that means more romantic generally, especially when you drink a lot.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
Balthazaar, Scarpetta, Pearl Oyster Bar, Osteria Circo

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Mediterranean region, Italy, Lebanon, Southern France

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
That is impossible to say, but I was most impressed at the main restaurant of Masa in the Time Warner Building, we stay at the bar and Masa cooked a 12 course meal making everything we ate...it was memorable to say the least...

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Throw away everything in your pantry every 6 months, it does not last more than that.

What do you eat when you are home?
Roast chicken, lamb stew, rare grilled steaks, poached fish and lobsters

What was the inspiration for Town.?
The Four Seasons Restaurant in Midtown