What were your favorite foods growing up?
My Mom's mac and cheese, baked ziti and hamburgers from a place in NJ called The Fireplace -- classic comfort food.

When did you decide you wanted to be a restaurateur?
I worked in a catering at a country club from the time I was 16 years old. I went to college to be a lawyer and the year I graduated I sold shoes at K-mart. I went to work at my dad's law firm during the day, I would cook in an Italian restaurant at night. Of all those jobs, I learned that I loved to cook the most.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
Unofficially, it began when I was about 10 years old at a summer camp in Maine called Belgrade. When we went on camping trips, I have vivid memories of cooking things like chicken boiled in wine with carrots and onions and then grilled.

If you didn't become a restaurateur, what would you be?
I would have been a lawyer. I applied to NYU and was accepted, but never went.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
My first cookbook was Wolfgang Puck's "Modern French Cuisine". It was awesome!! I learned a great deal from a chef named Steven Singer. He was Wolfgang's first sous chef at Spago and later corporate chef at Sfuzzi restaurants. What was then such an exciting food revolution taking place with California cuisine firmly cemented my belief that good food is about respecting the raw ingredients, not doing too much to alter it, but simply enhancing it.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Nothing beats a well sharpened knife.

What influences your cooking style?
Mexico. Together with the chefs of Rosa Mexicano, I visit our culinary adviser based in Oaxaca to visit local markets, cook and eat several times a year. Learning firsthand about culinary traditions and ingredients is how we are able to bring authentic Mexican flavors to our restaurants.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Pasilla de Oaxaca is a chile that brings incredibly smoky heat to any dish. We make a fantastic salsa with it that you can use on any meat or chicken.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Attention to detail is everything in the hospitality business. Noticing what a guest likes or dislikes, how the table is set, how the dish is presented, nothing can go unnoticed. You need to be on high alert all the time to make sure that every guest has an enjoyable and memorable meal.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
There is a common misconception that Mexican food is unhealthy, which is totally untrue. Rich, flavorful sauces are slow cooked, not doused in fats. One perfect example is our whole red snapper brushed with Guajillo chile and then grilled. We serve it with a tableside prepared green salsa. It's simple, fresh and healthy.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Throughout the year, we feature special dinners and cooking classes that celebrate traditional Flavors of Mexico, such as Day of the Dead. Every year, we like to up the ante and create a meal that with blow away our guests. Last year we tackled one of the most authentic staples of Mexican cuisine in a multi course mole tasting dinner. It was a rewarding challenge to create a menu that could reflect the great diversity of mole.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
I don't know if it counts as a disaster but one year for Cinco de Mayo we had a live TV crew at one of the New York restaurants and the anchor took a huge bite of a stuffed jalapeno on air that had not been properly seeded. He looked like his head was going to explode from the heat but he had to play it cool for the camera.

What is your least favorite food?
Kasha Varnishkas. It's something my mother made me eat. Now that I am completely into Mexican food, I must say that Escamoles or little ant eggs from the cactus don't register as a favorite.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
David Chang has certainly become a phenomenon and his food is great. I'm a fan of this trend towards Asian foods that are presented with a cutting edge style but are comfortable at the same time.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Singular tip would be to add a teaspoon of boiling water to your homemade salad dressing when blending. It will lighten the texture but not dull the flavor.

For the bigger picture, I'd say, keep food in its simplest form and use cooking methods that will allow the true flavor of the food to come out. Don't hide flavor!

What do you eat when you are home?
I eat everything. I love to cook fish like snapper, halibut or cod and serve it with simple vegetables tossed in vinaigrette. And, a good steak on a wood grill is never disappointing.