I don't like it when I go to a restaurant and I'm lectured from the menu.

Obviously California is fantastic in terms of produce, vegetables.

Today, because I want to be gentle on my back, I listen to jazz.

Cooking is a holistic process of planning, preparing, dining and sharing food. I place food at the center of our humanity, as it nourishes not only our physical bodies but also our emotional and spiritual lives. Food is truly a cultural phenomenon that informs our traditions and our relationship with the earth. I genuinely believe that food connects us all.

California is lucky, the East Coast is lucky because we get great seafood and a lot of produce from Florida, locally in good weather, but in the winter we have to buy it.

I had a passion for cooking, and I was a very bad student.

For me, food is about memories, feelings, emotions, and so is Le Bernardin, and that's why it's not just a restaurant.