Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Food should be fun.
Good food is a good trend.
My favorite wines are Zinfandels.
Anyone can make a good roast chicken.
I have no formal culinary training, right.
Success is measured by the memories you create.
I think every young cook wants to write a book.
The media builds you up, and then it tears you down.
My childhood wasn't full of wonderful culinary memories.
It's not about perfection; it's about the joy of striving.
I drank more wine when I wasn't working as much, to be honest.
When I go out to eat, it's usually something moderate in style.
The law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.
Some of the recipes in the book have evolved for us. Many haven't.
You're getting to know who the great chefs are through their books.
Respect for food is respect for life, for who we are and what we do.
You have to be driven. You have to be focused. You have to be aware.
We rely on our purveyors to tell us what's available and what's good.
A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.
It's one thing you aspire to: someday, you'll be able to write a book.
I guess the main source of stress for me is the stress I put on myself.
And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!
I think if you can take one or two things from a cookbook, it's successful.
A kaiseki meal is like that, very small courses over a long period of time.
One of the problems with writing a cookbook is that recipes exist in the moment.
We go through our careers and things happen to us. Those experiences made me what I am.
The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.
I like to drink young wines, wines which are robust and have a lot of forward fruit to them.
In any restaurant of this caliber, the chefs are in the same position, building relationships.
I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.
I came to understand that the words executive and corporate never belong next to the word chef.
Whether it's destiny or fate or whatever, I don't think I could do a French Laundry anywhere else.
No, it's funny, when I eat out it's not typically in the kind of restaurants people might imagine.
I think that you’ve got to make something that pleases you and hope that other people feel the same way.
Any job worth doing is worth doing well. But to be able to do that, you have to do it over and over again.
But once in a while you might see me at In and Out Burger; they make the best fast food hamburgers around.
I wanted to learn everything I could about what it takes to be a great chef. It was a turning point for me.
I don't think you could have a 7 with a manual. But I can't see having a BMW sports sedan without a manual.
A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn't be a blueprint. It should be more inspirational; it should be a guide.
For me, thats one of the important things about cooking. What was good enough yesterday may not be good enough today.
I didnt want to be encumbered by what anyone elses abilities were, their equipment or environment or their ability to get certain products.
I think that's the important thing - being aware of that inspiration and being able to interpret it into something that's meaningful for you.
This is the great challenge: to maintain passion for the everyday routine and the endlessly repeated act, to derive deep gratification from the mundane.
It wasn't about mechanics; it was about a feeling, wanting to give someone something, which in turn was really gratifying. That really resonated for me.
I hope the cooks who are working for me now are getting that kind of experience so they can use what they're learning now as a foundation for a great career.
They know what my standards are. They know what I need and how to get it to me, and they know how to communicate with me if for some reason they can't get it.
Your idea of that dish has evolved, and if you're a cook, you can start thinking in different ways about it, maybe even a different way than I think about it.
Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore.
I believe Fernand Point is one of the last true gourmands of the 20th century. His ruminations are extraordinary and thought-provoking. He has been an inspiration for legions of chefs.
Even the most astute chefs seek out the assistance of Celine Labaune, owner of Gourmet Attitude, because they know they can rely on her keen senses and deep understanding of the truffle trade.