“I was a little, uh, incorrigible as a kid, so the kitchen was a good place to give me structure and balance. It taught me hard work, but then I grew to love it.”

My mother and my grandmother are pioneers of Mexican cuisine in this country, so I grew up in the kitchen. My mom, Zarela Martinez, was by far my biggest influence and inspiration – and toughest critic.

Instead of going out, I’m trying to encourage people to have a memorable experience in their own home. We call it ‘Delicioso Night In.’ I invite the people I care about the most. Then, when I get a lot of people together, I like to have finger foods.

Latin food suffers like Chinese. You can do marginal Chinese and be successful. You can do crappy Mexican and be packed.

I wanted to get away from the Mexican vernacular and do more ‘nuevo Latino.’ Americans are starting to understand regionality in Mexican food. It is very regional in terms of ingredients.

I like to cook with the philosophy of using great ingredients and not altering them too much.

Nobody likes sweaty coleslaw.

My biggest challenge is cooking traditional French dishes, which usually require very specific techniques and methods. That’s just not my style… I cook from the soul.

It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilizationitself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things we have always carried closest to our hearts.

My career, at the moment, is very exciting, but love comes first because it balances me.

He is a great leader by example. Someone whom I have always admired for his ability to remain balanced and have the sense of equanimity about his captaincy.

I mean, my music career and my acting career – if I want to do them to the extent that I eventually do want to get to, it’s going to be a bit of a balancing act. But I’m hoping they’ll just go hand in hand.

Playing in the same team as Sachin is a huge honour. His balance of mind, shrewd judgment, modesty and, above all, his technical brilliance make him my all-time hero. You can’t get a more complete cricketer than Sachin. He has everything that a cricketer needs to have.

Look for intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego and the drive to get things done.

I try to eat healthy. But sometimes, though, I eat cheeseburgers. Thats good for the soul. I make sure to balance everything out. I drink tons of water.

Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping-stones to greater experience…When one door closes, another always opens; as a natural law it has to, to balance.