b'a note from the chefI started my life here in America as a student, then became a stockbroker, a dishwasher and a chef. Ultimately, thanks to a magical opportunity, I became a TV chef. Its been quite a beautiful adventure. As Ive worked on this book, Ive realized that my life has come full circle. I am no longer the young, ambitious, up-and-coming celebrity chef who launched his first public television series 14 yearsago. Now, at 50 years of age, I have become an elder of the industry.What has transpired over the years has been phenomenal.A year or so ago, I was at a book release party in Hollywood. It wasthe launch of The Hollywood Cookbook, in which a few of my recipes had been published, along with those of many actors and actresses, models and celebrity chefs, to raise funds for charity. There werepaparazzi everywhere, snapping photos and yelling. The room was full of beautiful people, the music was loud, and the party was raging on. One of the first things I noticed upon entering the room was a thick head of red hair, accompanied by a big smile, as a man walked toward me with his hand outstretched. I recognized him right away; he was Michael Cimarusti, a culinary superstar in Los Angeles. Michael had already established a name for himself with his restaurant Providence, a real hot spot and a culinary mecca for people in the know.Michael reached out to shake my hand and then he started to talk, quickly and loudly, compensating for the thunderous music in the place. I took it as a real compliment that he recognized me and wanted to meet me. I couldnt hear everything he was saying, but I heard what really mattered, and it struck me like lightning. I always wanted to meet you, he said. When I was a little kid, I always used to watch your TV showman, you were funny!My father always used to say: Nicolino, la vita scorre come un fiume in piena (Nick, life runs away from you like a river rushing downhill). I never quite understood what those words meant, until that moment. There were two ways to look at it. One way was to take partial credit for influencing the formative years of this culinary genius who was standing before me shaking my hand. The other way was to feel rather . mature. In a less than illustrious way, I felt the latter.After I went home that evening, I found myself sitting in my office, reminiscing over old photos, magazine articles and souvenirs of events gone by, and as I wandered down memory lane, I said out loud, When did time start to go by so fast? Suddenly I understood my fathers words even more clearly. So many images came rushing through my mind, such as the first time I met Jacques Ppin, one of my culinary idols. I could hardly speak the words for a proper greeting, but after working with Jacques many times over the years, I think of him as the ultimate gentleman. As I sat in my office, I also remembered having lunch with Julia Child and famed winemaker Robert Mondavi at an event in San Francisco and recalled, too, how surreal it all was, especially when they called me by my first name. I could still feel the excitement of being Grand Marshal of the Columbus Day Italian Heritage Parade in San Francisco and of giving a speech for the first time at the James Beard Foundation 12'