to hear that he empathizes with the things that we're going through, figuring out who you are as a chef, where you belong in this country as an asian-american. do you belong in asia? you're not asian enough or you're not american enough. he understood that and he walked us through where we belong in this food culture. >> he for a lot of people, even outside of the industry, he really opened them up, not just to trying new foods but to branching out a little bit and to talking to people. and even you, you say he encouraged you to travel. >> absolutely. i didn't do much traveling -- i got to new york and i didn't do much traveling. you start to watch his show and tony gives you these beautiful bullet points. he basically was your personal fixer. he showed you where to eat and where to go and what market to go to. and food tv, the landscape isn't