Gail Simmons Quotes

"I'm a healthy weight for my height, and I like how I look on most days."

"Patience is the secret to good food."

"I cook mostly vegetarian vegetable and bean stews. Quinoa salads. I make my mother-in-law's recipe for chicken and barley stew all the time."

"There is no better way to bring people together than with desserts."

"Patience was not something that came naturally to me, but in cooking it is the quintessential skill."

"Always wear sunscreen and wash your makeup off at night."

"Dark chocolate, and salt and vinegar chips are my weakness - but not together."

"At the beginning of the week, I roast a ton of vegetables so I can use them for the next few days. I also plan out meals in advance."

"When I'm cooking for myself, I find that I eat almost completely vegetarian, although I'm not vegetarian."

"I'm tempted by everything. My husband makes fun of me because every day it's a new food that I love. I have a weakness for butterscotch pudding, ice cream in any flavor and dark chocolate, although that's one thing I do keep in my house - 70% dark chocolate."

"I wish I could say I was one of those people who loves working out, but I don't; it's just not that fun. But I make an effort to work out aggressively three times a week."

"I also have a soft spot for spicy chicken wings. They are always best eaten at dives and sports bars, like Wogie's in the West Village, New York City, near my house."

"I cannot go to Montreal without going to Beauty's, my favorite place for breakfast, where I have the Mish-Mash omelet with hot dogs, salami, eggs, green peppers, and onions, and the best banana bread in the world. It's legendary!"

"I run a solid 4-6 miles at a time, and over the last year two years I've gotten really into SoulCycle. It's sort of an evolved form of spinning."

"Because I travel so much, I bring my workout clothes and shoes wherever I go. That way I can always do some exercise."

"In America, Blackberry Farm in Tennessee is one of the most amazing hotels I've had the privilege of staying at."

"I love The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, an Auberge Property in Bluffton, South Carolina. It's a spectacular corner of the world, with massive old trees lined with Spanish moss, and alligators swimming in the river."

"I spend so much time in Los Angeles and normally stay at a corporate apartment when shooting 'Top Chef: Just Desserts,' but when I have the chance to stay somewhere more luxurious, I love The Montage in Beverly Hills."

"I am a glutton for a beautiful hotel. I am so easily smitten by high thread counts."

"Balance is key in cooking - you want a little acid, a little sweet, a little savory - the flavors should be harmonious."

"Like baseball, food will never go out of style; we will always need to eat and we will always find it entertaining. I think of food TV this way - all the fun and none of the calories."

"There's not a single chef I know of that does not think about the politics of the food they're serving."

"You don't get second chances in the real world."

"I never really drank coffee in college, but now I'm on my feet all day and out all night and can't believe it hasn't always been in my life. When morning comes I crave it."

"When I diced vegetables, it was painstaking work to make sure that every single piece looked the same: 1/4-inch cubed for small, 3/4-inch cubed for large. It's a matter of practice and precision."

"Canada is a big part of my life."

"The first thing people say to me when they meet me is, 'You're so much skinner in person.' You have to live up to these standards that are so unrealistic. I try to tune it out."

"I had decided I wanted to write about food, and I knew the only way to do that is to speak with authority, which meant learning the language and knowing what that experience is like."

"My husband works in the music industry and he's always the first to know about great new bands, so I end up seeming really with it because I'll be listening to an up-and-coming band before everyone else hears about it."

"It's better to get the nutrients for healthy skin from food, not supplements. Salmon, walnuts, blueberries, spinach... lots of my favorite foods happen to be amazing for skin too."