Receiving the president of the United States in your restaurant is a big thing. Obama came three times. There's a sense of pride when you're one of few who has had a chance to spend an evening with the president of the United States. Despite if he's Republican or Democrat, we accept them all. Also, I remember days when I had Julia Child coming, with close friends. I had a great relationship with Julia. So those moments are more of affection and admiration than of fancy pride.

A lot of chefs don't have a natural sense of economy. I was with one guy the other day and I had to show him how to peel a turnip, because the way he was peeling turnips, he was throwing half of it in the garbage. It's not about being cheap. It's about being proper.

If you aren't born here, to be a real New Yorker, you have to bring your talent, be a successful mentor, and support the New Yorkers who made the city by giving back.

I learned from my grandmother, because we were cooking a lot for the farm. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

A lot of young chefs today get carried away by trends, by influences, by movements.

Remember, it is never the knife's fault.

Kitchens should be designed around what's truly important-fun, food, and life.