Techniques are not the most difficult to teach. The attitudes chefs take are much more important.

The relentless pursuit of being different is very French.

It is impossible to remain indifferent to Japanese culture. It is a different civilisation where all you have learnt must be forgotten. It is a great intellectual challenge and a gorgeous sensual experience.

Failure is enriching. It's also important to accept that you'll make mistakes - it's how you build your expertise. The trick is to learn a positive lesson from all of life's negative moments.

I have a very modern way of thinking; the chef is there to lead the team and not just to sit behind the piano.

A man obsessed: obsessed with perfection, sharing, aesthetics, taste, savoir-faire, and much more.

Cuisine has become too complicated - this is about subject, verb, adjective: duck, turnips, sauce.