When I thought my professional career was over, it hadn't even started yet.

The planning is everything. Deciding which dishes you're going to prepare can turn into the make-or-break decision five days later, when you actually serve the meal.

Never let 'em see you sweat. Guests feel guilty if they think you've worked too hard to make dinner for them - which of course you have!

I always like to have flowers on the table. I think they make it look special.

All my life I dreamed of an apartment in Paris where I could cook, and now I have one, on the Left Bank.

If it's a cocktail party, I generally make five or six different things, and I try to choose recipes that feel like a meal: a chicken thing, a fish or shrimp thing, maybe two vegetable things, and I think it's fun to end the cocktail party with a sweet thing.

Creme Brulee is the ultimate 'guy' dessert. Make it and he'll follow you anywhere.