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Television host, cookbook author, Gourmet Magazine's Executive Chef and mom, Sara Moulton does it all. We talked with her about how she got her start in the kitchen, her thoughts on working with Julia Child and what to expect at this year's Gourmet Institute.

AndrewZimmern.com: You didn’t decide to get involved in the food industry until after college. Was there aparticular incident or moment of truth that helped you to realize your passion for the kitchen?

Sara Moulton: My Mom is the one who figured it out. I was a year out of college, cooking in a bar and going nowhere. She wrote to Craig Claiborne and Julia Child and asked them for advice about what I should do if I wanted to pursue a cooking career. Craig Claiborne wrote her back and said I should either go to the hotel school in Lausanne Switzerland or the Culinary Institute of America. I wanted to stay in the United States so I applied to the CIA and got in. The day I started there I knew this was so right for me.

AZ.com: After spending a few years working in restaurants, you eventually ended up in the Gourmet Magazine test kitchen where you’ve been for 24 years. Clearly you love working in that setting, what makes it special? Is there anything you miss about restaurants?

SM: I spent 7 years in restaurants and absolutely loved it but when it was time to have kids I decided I needed to take a break. I started in the test kitchen in 1984 and worked there for 4 years but always missed the excitement and immediacy of the restaurant world. So when the job of chef of Gourmet’s executive dining room opened up I went after it and I have had that job ever since. Now I am making the best food I have ever prepared in my life.

AZ.com: You worked behind the scenes on Julia Child and More Company. What was it like working with Julia? How did her friendship impact your career?

SM: Julia was my angel. Not only did I learn a ton from her in the kitchen but also about life. She was one of the funniest people I ever met. She helped me get an apprentiship in France, she pushed me to join the IACP and she recommended me for several important jobs in my career. She was always there for me, like another Mom.

AZ.com: What five restaurants in NYC are your regular hangouts and why?

SM: Wow, that changes all the time. If someone else is paying – Le Bernadin and Nobu are at the top of my list. I also love Red Cat and Cookshop.

AZ.com: What is it like working with Ruth Reichl and how has her stewardship of the magazine affected your work life?

SM: I don’t really get to work with Ruth because she is part of the editorial side and I am part of the advertising side. My job is to make the magazine come alive in my dining room where we entertain clients (aka advertisers). But I love what she has done for the magazine. She has made it vibrant and cutting edge both in terms of the look and the content. I am more proud than ever to work here.

AZ.com: As co-founder of the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance, you’ve been devoted to creating opportunities for women in the culinary field. How have you seen the role of women in the kitchen change? What do you think is the biggest advantage to having more women in that environment?

SM: Women are treated much better now than when I first got into the industry but it is still not ideal for them. The situation has improved because European males no longer dominate all the best restaurants in the country. They don’t think women belong in the kitchen. When I first moved back to New York in the early 80’s I applied to a famous French restaurant (Julia gave me an introduction) and although I had a nice interview with the chef, I heard afterwards from someonethat had worked with him that this chef would rather close his restaurant then hire a women.I have worked in restaurant kitchens with all women, all men, and a mix. I found that women were calmer under pressure, better at multi tasking and did not let their ego get in the way.

AZ.com: Name five female chefs that we should be keeping an eye on.

SM: You know, I don’t get out enough to be able to answer this. I will say however thatwomen chefs are finally making their name in New York and that makes me very happy (they were kept out for the reason I mentioned above for the longest time).

AZ.com: This fall, Gourmet will host their sixth annual Gourmet Institute- a fabulous weekend in New York full of exclusive seminars, cooking demos from top chefs,tastings and more. What should attendees expect? Anything new and excitinggoing on this time around?

SM: The Gourmet Institute is always exciting because 1. We get the best chefs in the country to be part of it (They all adore Ruth) 2. We get access to the best restaurants in the city (again because of Ruth) and 3. The seminars and demos are far more intimate than any other culinaryfestival you go to.

AZ.com: What’s in your fridge?

SM: I am in the middle of working on a new cookbook so all sorts of odds and ends from that process, a poblano corn casserole, homemade kimchee, yogurt sauce, sausage and peppers pie…

One of the hardest-working women in the food biz, Sara Moulton has been juggling multiple jobs for years. Admired by millions as the host of Cooking Live, Cooking Live Primetime, and Sara’s Secrets, Moulton was one of the Food Network’s defining personalities during the outlet’s first decade. In addition to her work on the Food Network, the energetic Moulton has been the Executive Chef of Gourmet Magazine for the last twenty-three years. She is also the Food Editor of ABC-TV’s Good Morning America, and the author of Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals (Broadway Books, 2005) and Sara Moulton Cooks at Home (Broadway Books, 2002). And in April of this year, Moulton launched a new 20-episode television series on public television, entitled, Sara’s Weeknight Meals.

Sara Moulton is also the face of the Gourmet Institute, the Magazine’s signature culinary weekend event, taking place from October 17-19, 2008. Click here for details on how to attend.