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There's not much cooking in our household. We do a lot of raw food, so it's more about putting the right ingredients together to create something scrumptious.

A big thing that gets people in trouble in the kitchen is not reading the recipe from start to finish before you cook it. Before you start anything, read through the entire recipe once.

There's no way I'm going to stand up for bad ingredients. We love seasonal ingredients. It's a false dichotomy to say that modern cooking is at odds with that, but some people want to have a great ingredient and no technique.

Don't put too many chefs to work. Sometimes they get too involved in the ingredients and are of no help.

Be sure to read a recipe all the way through before you cook. The time it saves you in the long run is invaluable.

For me, whether it's in a book or on T.V., a recipe has to be simple. I have a short attention span, so to open a cookbook and see a recipe that goes on for three to four pages, well, I've lost interest.

I almost never make stuff out of cookbooks because they're either too complicated or there's an ingredient in there that I can't find.

Simple ingredients prepared in a simple way - that's the best way to take your everyday cooking to a higher level.

You don't have to stick with these recipes. They're guides. As I say, they're a way in. Have fun with them. It's an easier way to cook in a busy life, once you get the hang of it.

The hardest part of cooking is shopping, and if you organize yourself and shop once a week, you're halfway there.