Chef Gabe Bertaccini never set out to be a television star, but when his culinary successes caught the eye of casting executives, a star was seemingly born overnight. Now, he has hosted and appeared on multiple Food Network shows like Ciao House, Beat Bobby Flay, 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing and Chef Grudge Match, and he's the newest mentor on and host of Season 29 of Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible. Ahead, he sits down with Food Network to discuss his experience mentoring not-so-talented cooks, what cuisine would land him on Worst Cooks and his mantra of "Eat, see, travel."

GABE: I'll say eating the food that they make! *laughs* No, listen … It was definitely difficult at the beginning to see how unfamiliar some people are in the kitchen. You know, I assume, especially because of my background being Italian … [and] I'm not saying everybody's a good [cook] in Italy … [but] we know our way [around] the kitchen. And so it was kind of crazy for me to see somebody that really has no idea how to use an oven. It was something I've never experienced in my life. But God, I have to tell you … they really, really want to learn and that's the beauty of it. They are there not only for the show, of course, but they're there to really go home and feel inspired to cook something … and that's really moving … I'm literally instilling in them the passion I have for cooking, and although they're [probably] not going to go home [and] decide to be chefs, [if] they make a good bowl of bolognese sauce and some pasta for their family, that makes me happy.

GABE: I would say, "[You] don't have the patience to learn how to cook," and that's different, and that's OK. You can say, “It's not a priority of mine to learn how to cook,” but there is no such thing as “I don’t know how to cook.”

GABE: The ability to transform ingredients and feed people is so magical … and the ability to say, “You know what? Tonight, instead of going out, I'm going to make [roast] chicken and potatoes. Why don't you come over?” It's so magical that it's almost addictive. And once you start, you see the magic of that — then you want to learn more and more and more.

So I say, just start from literally the basics. Learn five basic recipes and really set the bar low and just say, “I just want to cook a healthy meal. Something that is good, something that I made, and I know what's in it,” and maybe you want to share it with somebody you love, because that's the magic of food.

GABE: You begin very hopeless. [You] look at them and you're speechless. I remember having a producer in my ear saying, “Gabe, you need to talk more,” and I was like, “Oh my God. Never happened in my entire life … I'm always talking!” And I'm thinking, I don't know where to start!

The first few days, the first weeks are very rocky, and then there is a moment during Week 3, 4, where the recruits are doing something and I'm like, “Oh my God, they're doing it like they're supposed to do it!” And you see in their eyes … they're so happy at that moment … and that is, to me, the most rewarding thing. They're discovering that they can do it, and they get so excited. It's like a kid learning how to ride a bike.

GABE: Indian cuisine. Literally, it's one of my favorite cuisines, but [I] don’t feel comfortable going to the store and buying some Indian ingredients and going home and cooking it … I would never feel comfortable … mastering that cuisine because it's so connected to their culture. There's so many variations that, to me … unless I have somebody there that really teaches me and I understand the culture and where it comes from, then I feel I'm almost [appropriating] some sort of secret that I am not supposed to really know. [I think that] there are certain cuisines that require a cultural understanding before you can go into the kitchen and decide to master something.

(Pictured: Bobby Flay and Gabe Bertaccini's Diwali Holiday Market dish in a challenge set by Maneet Chauhan, as seen on Beat Bobby Flay (Holiday Throwdown) Season 3.)

GABE: My favorite things to eat are comfort foods. It could be a lasagna from my mother. It could very well be an American apple pie. I love rustic food. I definitely love steaks. I love grilling, I love anything that's open fire. [It's] difficult to give you one specific answer, but I say [anything] that makes my heart [look] back at things that I've experienced … and that often, of course, because of my upbringing, connects to very comforting Italian cuisine.

GABE: Formentera in Spain … It's such a small little island, you can go from one side to the other side in about 25 minutes on a scooter. [Along] the way, you see salt farms, olive farms, you hear the cicadas, and then you have these amazing caper bushes all over, so you get the smell of the capers. It's very peaceful. It's a place where I go and I feel like I can leave all of my worries behind.

GABE: I definitely want to go to South America. I'm really attracted to that area of the world; they're very in tune with their land. I love hiking, I love exploring, I love off-roading and so there is the whole natural component of it that really brings me there. But then they are doing some amazing restaurants there. There is amazing food that's happening, there is this coming back of South American cuisine, which I'm really excited about. So, that's where we're going next.

(Pictured: Don Julio, a restaurant and grill in Buenos Aires, famous for its mastery of the grill and high-quality Argentine beef, as seen on Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations.)

GABE: It's the approach to eating, it's the approach to dining … the ability to just host people in your home less pretentiously, I would say. In Italy it's a very casual thing, you just invite somebody, just pull out the plates, they're all mismatching, whatever. You just sit at the table, you're scooping pasta out of the pasta pot … I think in America [there is] pressure when you have people over that these dinner parties have to be something so magical and they have to be like, “Oh my God, have you seen Gabe's candles? They're gorgeous. The flowers, oh my God, they were great. And the music, oh, the music was perfect, that chicken was a little overcooked, but …” *laughing*

We don't have that in Italy, and it's funny because when Americans go to Italy, what they love so much about it is exactly that … [the] casualness of it all. And so that is what I miss … it's much more humble than here.

GABE: I want people to know that you can invite people over for [the] most simple things. And you don't have to have your house completely done up … the bathroom [perfect,] because if you wait for those moments, they are very rare, and so then you end up not wanting to do it. You end up stressing yourself out for it. So, let's go back to a more simple way of actually entertaining and a more simple way of cooking. And I don't have to have a three-course meal. I can just invite you over for a roasted chicken and some great potatoes. Come over, let's talk about life. Let's connect.

GABE: French fries. One hundred percent. I love french fries. I just can't stop eating them. I have french fries almost every day, definitely every week. *laughs* It's a problem.

GABE: It's going to be pizza. If you told me, “You're on a [deserted] island, you can only eat one food,” I'll pick pizza. I can eat it for lunch. I can eat it for breakfast. I can eat it every single day.

GABE: Roasted chicken. I think everybody should know a good salad and delicious roasted chicken recipe, which is easy, because then you [can] impress people with sides, and sides are much easier, but the chicken always stays the same. I make a [lemon-sage brown butter roast chicken] … and then when I have people over, I change [the] sides depending on the season … and so every time it feels like a [new] dinner. I’ve got the chicken down. It takes me 15 minutes to prep, and then I put it in the oven, and it's easy. And then the sides are simple and fun.