Tyler Florence

The concept of being a locavore, or one who chooses whenever possible to incorporate locally grown or locally produced food into one's nutrition plan, is of great importance.

I want to be Jacques Pepin. I want to have a nice 50-, 60-year career. I want to be on PBS when I'm 70-something, still kicking it, having a great time, showing up in Aspen to sign cookbooks. I just want to have a nice, big, long career.

I like loud music. I like music that fills my ears. I'm just going to pull out my iPod and see what we got here. We're always interested in new bands because we have a retail store in northern California. I think it's got to be happy.

My favorite comfort food would have be braised beef. You know, beef, slow-cooked in a Dutch oven or in a slow cooker until it falls apart with simple mushrooms, some onions and lots of fresh thyme and garlic.

My wife and I love to host wine and cheese parties. They are simple and elegant and you don't have to put a lot of effort and time into it.

Children, if they haven't been introduced to foods by the time they're 3 years old, are afraid of it, as if it would hurt them. They don't really get out of that until they're 6 or 7 - it's a safety mechanism, and you're not going to win.

I think it's important to recall... what you remember your grandmother making, where you're from and the foods you enjoyed as a child yourself, and pass that information off to your kids.

Nobody cooks anymore. To me, to watch your parents cook, and to have a house that smells warm and delicious, is a very vital memory that I think kids don't really have anymore.

Locally produced foods - defined as those harvested within a 100-mile radius of one's home - have a lesser impact on the environment because of the decreased need for transportation from source to consumer.

It's never about the screwup - it's always about the recovery. That's the thing about it... if it comes out a little rare you call it carpaccio. It comes out a little overcooked, you shred it up and put in on a sandwich.

It doesn't take money to have style, it just takes a really good eye. Sometimes you can find amazing culinary antiques that will make it feel like an old French kitchen.

Fifty thousand dollars' worth of cabinets isn't going to make you a better cook; cooking is going to make you a better cook. At the end of the day, you can slice a mushroom in about three inches of space, and you can carve a chicken in a foot and a half. So it doesn't matter how big the kitchen is.

I love food, all food, everything about food. I enjoy going to the market and having what's in front of me - what's fresh, seasonal - tell me what I'm cooking.

First and foremost I am a chef, whether behind the stove at one of my Northern California restaurants or for the past 15 years in front of the camera on my Food Network cooking shows. Creating new dishes and flavor combinations that bring cooks and our restaurant guests pleasure is my job and I love it.

I don't think there's anything wrong with a hot dog or other convenience foods, as long as they're balanced with fresh vegetables. It's hard to ignore 95 percent of the grocery store.

Fruit often ends up rotting in the crisper drawer. Well, that's the wrong place to put it. Out of sight, out of mind. The kids all know where the junk-food shelf is. Make the fruit that easy to get to. Put a big huge bowl of fruit on the counter.

My parents both worked full time. I remember a lot of simple meals. Everything I know about cooking is self-schooled.