America is a such a melting pot, I'm not sure if roast chicken is the classic comfort food for everybody.

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

It was my first day working at Tour d'Argent, a famous restaurant in Paris, in 1982, and they were celebrating their 400th anniversary. I am in the fish station and after many mistakes, including cutting myself after 30 seconds in that kitchen, the chef said, "Make a Hollandaise sauce with 32 yolks." It takes me forever to separate the yolks from the whites, and I put them in a bowl and try to go close to the stove, but the stove is way too hot for me.

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.

My mother and my grandmother would make an apple tart in different styles, and I had one per day. Every day I would eat one full apple tart.

I love garlic, and I use it often.

America is a such a melting pot, I'm not sure if roast chicken is the classic comfort food for everybody.