I grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. My background was modest, and I worked at a Portuguese bakery in town.

Mom ran the house, so we grew up Portuguese.

My food is Louisiana, New Orleans-based, well-seasoned, rustic. I think it's pretty unique because of my background being influenced by my mom, Portuguese and French Canadian. There's a lot going on there.

My mom is Portuguese, and my dad is French Canadian. The solid foundations of those heritages, cultures and techniques, melded with my education and classical background, lead to my style of cooking.

My inspiration was my mom. She's a great cook, and she still cooks, and we still banter back and forth about cooking. Growing up in a mostly Portuguese community, food was important and the family table was extremely important. At a very young age I understood that.

Growing up in New England, being schooled and classically trained, it needed to shake, it needed to evolve.