Graham Elliot

I think that for me, growing up, my dad was in the Navy; we went all over the world. I love things the weirder the better. The idea I could eat things like snails or frogs legs or things like that was mind-blowingly cool. ”

I played the guitar and thought that was what I was going to do as a career. I still record music that is played in my restaurants. ”

I can't just sit all day on the couch and expect the weight to come off. My goals are my new focus instead of food. ”

Kosher salt, eggs and flour. These are the building blocks of everything. Kosher salt, above and beyond everything. ”

I'm inspired by artists who use a limited palette, like painter Piet Mondrian, and the White Stripes, two musicians who create an incredible sound. Our food is starting to go back to a 'less is more' style. ”

Gray means being open-minded. I always look at the world that way; I'm able to hear both sides of an argument. I don't listen to opera, but I don't think it's good or bad; it's just its own thing. I can completely appreciate it. ”

Dining should be something that isn't always taken extremely seriously. ”

I'm a traditionalist, so for me, black coffee is cool. ”

I'd love to open a restaurant that changes every month. One month it would be a mom and bar spaghetti-and-meatball, Red Sox place, and the next it would be a British pub, and everyone gets in a fight. ”

I think that people are getting really excited about different ethnic food, and almost even micro-ethnic food. So it's not just, 'I love Asian,' it's Szechuan or Hunan, this one style from China. ”