It's a challenge to demonstrate that you can prepare some really interesting food with humble ingredients.

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

I love faltering. I love, in a sense, coming up short. Because you learn nothing from success. You learn so much from failing.

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?

You have to be critical of what you do every day, to analyze it and be willing to push it further.

Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit.

I have always looked at it this way: If you strive like crazy for perfection - an all-out assault on total perfection - at the very least you will hit a high level of excellence, and then you might be able to sleep at night. To accomplish something truly significant, excellence has to become a life plan.