Graham Elliot

I'm in love with 'pure' flavors, things that are natural and delicious, minimally fussed with, that showcase the season. ”

Even though I live in and love Chicago, I can't stand deep-dish pizza. I'm a New York-style pizza person. ”

I think the big things for me are trying to keep running and staying active, but not forcing to do one hour or five miles but really going out and doing it until you feel good. ”

Weight is something I've battled all my life. ”

Chicago's always been known as this meat and potatoes place, and a lot of restaurants play that up. They try to outdo each other by adding another 10 ounces, so their 80 ounce steak becomes a 90 ounce steak with 10 pounds of mashed potatoes on the side. ”

Kids see cooking as a creative outlet now, like soccer and ballet. It gives me hope that things like fast food, childhood obesity and the horrible state of school lunches can be addressed by kids and their parents. ”

Any time you can involve fake mustaches, things are just better. ”

I really see food as subjective. It's a creative outlet. It's something that you do for fun. It's a gray area. It's not black and white or right and wrong. ”

Food to me, in one word, is 'creativity' or 'expression.' It's simply, 'This is who I am at this point in time, and this is what I want to cook for you.' ”

I think that expression is so great. So I'll look at someone like Prince, and one reason to lose weight is so I can rock that purple velvet outfit with the white frilly shirt. ”