The level of jealousy and insecurity in this industry [restaurant] is far greater than ever before.

If everyone could just cook properly I wouldn't have a problem.

Cooking a dish is fine; cooking it under pressure is a completely different ballgame.

It's learning your craft and understanding what it takes to survive in this industry. On the back of exposure from TV to books to Rachel Ray to Martha Stewart, the customer's integrity is far greater than every before. As a nation, just like the U.K., we don't complain enough. The more we complain in this country the better our restaurants will be.

Best to start at the bottom & gradually climb up. It's much more fun, too.

The pressure on young chefs today is far greater than ever before in terms of social skills, marketing skills, cooking skills, personality and, more importantly, delivering on the plate. So you need to be strong. Physically fit. So my chefs get weighed every time they come into the kitchen.

There is a level of snobbery and fickleness in L.A.