I’m all about making money. It’s the greatest thing, because it means you get money to spend.

I wasnt using college as a stepping stone to law school or some other career. I just wanted a liberal-arts education.

A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that's when cuisine is truly exciting.

My parents couldnt be looser. It was the ultimate laissez faire upbringing.

Excellence is about fighting and pursuing something diligently, with a strict and determined approach to doing it right. It's okay if there are flaws in the process - it makes it more interesting.

What I was reading was already part of my psyche, but finally someone else was saying it's okay to walk alone.

My fantasy is to have a restaurant where there are no written menus, but where you just ask people, What are you in the mood for? Fish? Meat? White wine?