Food is central to who we are: MasterChef Junior US judge Joe Bastianich

With his suave suits one may mistake him for a venture capitalist, but don't let that fool you.

For celebrity chef Joe Bastianich, that ship sailed long ago.

Born in an immigrant Italian family, food was the core ingredient of Bastianich's childhood story, so much so that he recalls spending days in his parents' restaurant in New York.

"My family were immigrants that came from Italy after World War II and they came to New York and worked in restaurants as waiters. My mother was a waitress and then they got married. They opened their first restaurant together in 1968, which is the year I was born.

"So, as most immigrant children, I grew up in the restaurant every day of my life," the restaurateur told PTI in a telephonic interview from New York.

Being a second generation immigrant in America came with some unsaid 'to-do-list' for him, quality education being one of them. He studied finance at Boston College.

"I was the first person from my family to go to college. Then I went to work on the Wall Street because that's what you're supposed to do once you graduate college."
"I realised that I didn't like it, it wasn't for me. And so I went back to the family business but I didn't go back to the business straight away."
"So even in our show, we try to find contestants that have the same sensibility, people who are really passionate about food and they have to really be ambitious. And the best contestant is the person who feels that they can change their life with their passion for food and cooking. Finding cooks with that kind of passion has always been my focus."
"The food stories are more important than the fine dining part. It's a double-edged sword. Sometimes the restaurant quality dish with Michelin stars may set a bar but it may or may not necessarily blow you away. We are looking for food with soul, meaning and significance."
"Having the real desire to feel like one can be on such shows can change your life. That's more important than even knowing how to cook sometimes, because that is something you can acquire along the way."