I don't follow the food trends.

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

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.

Obviously California is fantastic in terms of produce, vegetables.

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

I am a Buddhist, therefore I should not be collecting anything - however, I have a collection of Buddhas. I have a lot of them.

Well, cooking starts with shopping. If the ingredients are not good, you don't do it. Just change your mind and do something else.