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

I like to go hear jazz late-night up in Harlem.

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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 beginner cook is going to have to be patient to really learn well. When you start to beat your master, that's when you're really starting to master the thing. But it's going to take a while. After that, you have to define what you want to be, who you want to be, where you want to be.

What I bring - my team and I, because it's not only me - is this sense of elegance and casualness, and no pretension. There's also a sense of loyalty - loyalty to my customers, but also loyalty from my staff. Also, I think a sense of perfection; I'm a bit of an obsessed freak with perfection. I think I bring craziness sometimes, because if there is someone who's going to dare do something crazy, it's me.

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