Street food has always made life and living in Calcutta so much more easy and attractive.

For most of my adult life, I always had this pain in my gut, but because I had to survive, and I had to pay the rent, I needed the roof over our head and food for us to eat and some clothes.

Food has always been in my life. Being born in Ethiopia, where there was a lack of food, and then really cooking with my grandmother Helga in Sweden. And my grandmother Helga was a cook's cook.

The blues, the way it's interpreted, is always a product of your environment, and so it's almost like food. You know, it's like you use the ingredients, and you use your life experiences that you have.

I think I am very fortunate to have my sister, who is always there to guide me and my food and lodging has been taken care of. Since my basic need of life is secure, when it comes to working, I never appeared like a desperate struggler who needs the job to run the kitchen.

Food was always a big part of my life. My grandfather was one of 14 kids, and his parents had a pasta factory, so as a kid, he and his siblings would sell pasta door to door. After he became a movie producer, he opened up De Laurentiis Food Stores - one in Los Angeles and one in New York.

I always wanted to be a chef. Flavors and food were always of interest to me, but it was how those things brought friends and family together to celebrate not only the special occasions but everyday life. It has been a blessing that I have been able to pursue a career that creates a product that brings people together.

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