Graham Elliot quotes:

I've traveled all over. I've been to all 50 states. With my dad in the Navy, I lived in the Philippines from nine to 12, and I had dog, monkey, lizard, everything. Then I was in Hawaii, and I'm spear-fishing, catching octopus with my hands.

I tried to start my own religion in high school. I was very eccentric. I've always loved attention.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Weight is something I've battled all my life.

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.

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

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.

I don't get to watch a lot of TV. I just do all my news and reading and 'Meet the Press,' all that fun, exciting stuff.

My dad was in the Navy, so we moved around a lot. That led to me seeing myriad cultures and cuisines. I have been excited about eating and cooking for as long as I can remember.

I think that baseball as a whole, I am a huge romantic when it comes to the history and the stats and the numbers the stories behind it, so I would consider myself a pretty big fan.

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

I think with the kids I get to be a little more fun and goofy, which is kinda how I am all the time.

You are defined by your ingredients, by the way you touch them, by the flavors you draw from them.

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

I don't get to watch a lot of TV. I just do all my news and reading and "Meet the Press," all that fun, exciting stuff.

People love kids and kids like to cook.