Just walking in the kitchen (and we have three kitchens at Le Bernardin), I exercise quite a lot. I also walk in Central Park for 50 minutes from my house to Le Bernardin every day, rain, shine, snow.

When I started to work in Paris in fine dining, the passion really kicked in, and I knew that I would not, for the rest of my life, do anything else.

I love eggs. When it's the season of truffles, scrambled eggs with truffles, and I'm happy. I'm smiling like that.

I have very vivid memories of being a young child. My mother would create dinner as for us, and when she would bake, she would leave some dough for me. I would roll the dough into little sticks while she was cooking the apple tart of whatever. I was looking through the window of the oven and flipping the light, and then my bread would come out, and it was inedible, of course.

You don't become a chef to become famous.

I don't follow the food trends.

When you are 25, 30, you know, you have no responsibility, no mortgage, no kids, no retirement to think about, nothing.