You learn to cook so that you don't have to be a slave to recipes. You get what's in season and you know what to do with it.

I'm not wild about those twenty-four hour marinades

...no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.

I found that the recipes in most - in all - the books I had were really not adequate. They didn't tell you enough... I won't do anything unless I'm told why I'm doing it. So I felt that we needed fuller explanations so that if you followed one of those recipes, it should turn out exactly right.

A party without cake is really just a meeting.

Many of the delicious soups you eat in French homes and little restaurants are made just this way, with a leek-and-potato base to which leftover vegetables or sauces and a few fresh items are added.

You have to eat to cook. You can't be a good cook and be a noneater. I think eating is the secret to good cooking.