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

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.

The image foreigners have of French cuisine is fattening and very fancy food. But it's not true - French food isn't just rich. The word "healthy" doesn't exist in French. We have many, many words, but not that one. To me, healthy means paying close attention to feeding people.

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

Nowadays, food needs to be healthy, local, sustainable and not filled with too much fat, salt or sugar. It should be slow-cooked and seasonal. That's my vision.

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

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