So a little-known fact about him is that he was in a way sort of a failed novelist. He would show up at his kitchens four hours early and plunk away at mystery

So a little-known fact about him is that he was in a way sort of a failed novelist. He would show up at his kitchens four hours early and plunk away at mystery novels, but of course it was Kitchen Confidential that took off and then carried him into teevee-land… anyway, I once had the opportunity to talk with him at a Q&A, basically said that the shows were great and all, but what I really loved were his novels, and was he working on anything new? The look on his face, he just glowed. I think writing was his real passion, and the TV and travel stuff kind of derailed that.