My girlfriend Siri is a food blogger and we both love to entertain and eat. This is what happens when you're in your thirties: what was once a passion and real appetite for nightlife in New York City manifests itself into other things like entertaining at home.

I remember that at the beginning of the month the kind of menus my mom and father would prepare for us would have fish chicken. But at the end of the month - because my father would be waiting for paycheck - the refrigerator would get empty. I remember that without a lot of food left some of the best meals happened right there.

We are not really privy to all that crazy stuff that goes on in the show. I go to work eat and talk about food. The wild things happen when we aren't around. I expected Top Chef to last three or four seasons and we are now shooting season ten.

I kept thinking 'Somebody has to make a food show that is actually educational and entertaining at the same time... a show that got down to the 'why things happen.' Plus I hated my job - I didn't think it was very worthwhile.

But I don't begrudge anybody because I know how hard it is to have that dream and to make it happen whether or not it's just to put a roof over your head and food on the table.

I guess I feel that I was following my instincts and at the same time being guided by the best. I became totally intrigued with Louisiana - the people the food. It is a part of my life. Everything that has happened for me since moving here has just been icing on the cake.

The kitchen's a laboratory and everything that happens there has to do with science. It's biology chemistry physics. Yes there's history. Yes there's artistry. Yes to all of that. But what happened there what actually happens to the food is all science.

The problem is when that fun stuff becomes the habit. And I think that's what's happened in our culture. Fast food has become the everyday meal.

I say grace. I'm a big believer in grace. I happen to believe in a God that made all the food and so I'm pretty grateful for that and I thank him for that. But I'm also thankful for the people that put the food on the table.

People may say I developed an iron will but what really happened is that I made myself much fitter. I think an iron will is always supported by fitness.

But having said that what's happening with campaign finance reform and our political culture is devastating.

'Survivor' wouldn't have happened had I not gone out there and helped CBS to sell sponsors to finance the first one. Part of my thinking on 'Survivor' was that it should have rewards that are corporate brands. A Big Mac one thimble-full of Coca-Cola.

Canadians know that the promise of a recession didn't happen because of anything we did here. If you look at all the causes of the recession problems in mortgage markets the problems in the banking sector the problems in government finance in countries like Greece none of those problems were in present Canada.

The problem of how we finance the welfare state should not obscure a separate issue: if each person thinks he has an inalienable right to welfare no matter what happens to the world that's not equity it's just creating a society where you can't ask anything of people.

There is no city or country in the world where women and girls live free of the fear of violence. No leader can claim: 'this is not happening in my backyard.'

I was kind of surprised to learn how controlling I am. I never thought of myself in that way. I think the root of the control issues is usually fear because you want to know what's going to be happening at any given moment.

If the markets had behaved badly that would obviously add to people's sense of alarm... but there has been a lot of reassurance coming particularly in the way the Brits handled all this. There seems to be no great fear that something like that is going to happen here.

The way you deal with a scare is the way you deal with a laugh. The timing has to be perfect. When you're dealing with fear or laughter - emotions that happen spontaneously - you hope it's working. But in the moment you really have no idea.

My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash so when that happened... well I'm just thankful to be alive. I'm just grateful to be here at all.

I'd gone from being this art student messing about with music to this girl with a record deal magazine front covers and all this hype. In many ways it was everything I ever wanted but when it happened all I felt was total paralysing fear.

The greatest fear that haunts this city is a suitcase bomb nuclear or germ. Many people carry small gas masks. The masses here seem to be resigned to the inevitable believing an attack of major proportions will happen.

My greatest fear is feeling like a professional novelist. Somebody who creates characters who sits down and has pieces of paper taped to the wall - what's going to happen in this scene or this act. What I like is for it to be a much more scary sloppy reflection of who I am.

Grief has limits whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened but we fear all that possibly may happen.

We all have that burning question about what happens if we lose somebody we love especially if we lose them tragically. We wonder what fear was going on we wonder if we could have reached out and touched them held their hand looked in their eyes been there.