The parents are the issue, because it's not the kids' fault. They're the ones on the playground getting the s - and the jokes and the bullying, because of their size and they're obese. It's not the kids, it's the f - ing parents.

You know how arrogant the French are - extraordinary.

Customers should complain more. You know, food's expensive nowadays. And these sommeliers come along with their thousand-page wine list and practically throw it in your lap. They're all businessmen and know that customers get intimidated and buy something overpriced. I say, always put them on the spot. 'You come back to me with a red wine at $30, $40. Come back to me with a choice.'

I am a chef who happens to appear on the telly, that's it.

It goes back to the early days in the kitchen where you would be tasting dishes all night long, so the last thing I want to do in the morning is eat. Chefs generally tend to be grazers.

Everything I learned and didn't do in New York I would put into place here in the London West Hollywood. It's fascinating, when you look at the critics' reviews, and we had a great one in the New York Observer and all that, and then the New York Times came and it was a devastation; two stars out of four. They said that I played safe because it wasn't fireworks. Then they judged the persona over the substance that was on the plate.

If you want to become a great chef, you have to work with great chefs. And that's exactly what I did.