“Every since my wife, Adri, got pregnant with our now-eight-month-old d...” — J. Kenji Lopez-Alt Quote

Every since my wife, Adri, got pregnant with our now-eight-month-old daughter, Alicia, I regularly get asked what my plans are for feeding her. How can someone who writes about food and tests recipes for a living meet the picky and precise needs of an infant without losing his mind?

Now, normally I do all my research on existing recipes before I start working on my own version.

I wasn't meant to be a cook. It's a profession I accidentally fell into one summer between college semesters while looking for an easy job as a waiter. Nobody would hire me as a server, but one restaurant, in desperate need of a prep cook, told me that if I could hold a knife, I could have a job.

But if you're from New York and you grew up here, you have it built into you - what a slice of pizza is supposed to be - in a way that people from outside of New York don't.

Burt Reynolds once asked me out. I was in his room.

When I got the paperwork for Superstars, and I saw they asked what size swimsuit I wear, I had a hot flash, nearly broke into cold sweats and hired a trainer immediately.

Novelists, it seems to me, are the very last people who should be asked to comment on the news of the day, and sooner or later, when they have been pilloried for their views, most of them recognise this.

In our case, one of my earliest experiences working in the company was being asked to be on Ted Turner's board, and I saw that the value creation from owning networks was stunning - new channels, international opportunities, synergy, many things that Turner Broadcasting built for decades.