What were your favorite foods growing up?
Steak, hot dogs, pizza, Chinese food, McDonalds

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
When I was 10 years old I saw my grandfather cutting lobsters with his cleaver and I fell in love from that day on.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
I started as a dish/pot washer working in the Catskill Mountains while visiting my family for the summer and by the end of the season I was a cooks helper at an Italian restaurant.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
A professional musician playing and teaching the drums...

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Attending the Culinary Institute of America, working at Tavern on the Green and Window's on the World, working with Chef John Doherty at the Waldorf Astoria and most recently working with Chef Rolf Baumann from Legends at Yankee Stadium.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
Quality, freshness and seasonal. We are a steak house at the New Yankee Stadium and we only buy the best!

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
I own 12 cleavers and over 250 different knives.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
A special steak finishing glaze.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Cook with passion or do not cook at all...

What qualities do you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Experience, communication, speed, common sense, passion.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what should I order to eat?
I would recommend the grilled portobello mushroom and eggplant topped with roasted peppers on a bed of spinach with no cheese or the grilled sushi grade #1 tuna steak on braised haricot verts with fresh tomato marmalade.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
I have cooked for Presidents and a lot of political figures, the Pope, and of course the New York Yankees and all of the visiting teams. The most challenging for me was the 2008 All-Star Game at the old Yankee Stadium because every suite had a different team owner and a different menu.

What is your least favorite food?
Kiwi because I am allergic...

What is your beverage of choice?
Cold water and Coors Light

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
Anywhere and everywhere, but usually in Brooklyn at my Mother's kitchen!!

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Have fun, cook with passion and try not to stress too much...

What do you eat when you are home?
Usually salads and good assorted sandwiches.