So if you had the opportunity to work in kitchens around the world, would you take it? Would you stay at home in the city, town or country, you know? How do you decide when you're on a career path that's moving up to work in your own restaurant or somebody else's? Is it about your choices or what fate delivers to you? I'm not sure. But I do think that for some people, what guides them is their passion. It's not just our ambitions or chances.

Chef Maxime Kien now lives a life that some of us might envy in New York. But one thing I noticed, and I think you will as well, when I was chatting with him is that his passion for food, and specifically French food is a driver for him. And I'm sure he's influenced all the people he's worked with and who know him. Chef Kien’s food hero was his dad who was a very good chef. He studied culinary arts in Burgundy, where the family's originally from, and made his way to work in Monaco in the south of France. His dad then moved to Menton where Chef Kien was born. Sadly he was taken too young and passed away in a motorcycle accident when Chef Kien was 6 years old.