Alex Guarnaschelli
I think the biggest lesson for me in terms of competition shows is, whenever you go out to compete, there’s always a huge pantry, and it’s all laid out and beautiful and it’s very seductive. And I find that when I don’t rely too much, when I don’t fall bait to the beauty of 14 ingredients and then make a dish cluttered with ingredients, and I just stay simple and pick a couple of things I cook a lot, it’s better. But that is harder; that is easier said than done. It's very seductive; you’re like, "Oh, look at these peaches and plums and fiddlehead ferns and ramps." And all of a sudden you have a dish that's like a salad on top of a sandwich on top of a fruit platter on top of a fish, and you blow it.