As you get older, you shouldn't waste time drinking bad wine.

Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it's done right. Even a pancake.

I had my first French meal and I never got over it. It was just marvelous. We had oysters and a lovely dry white wine. And then we had one of those lovely scalloped dishes and the lovely, creamery buttery sauce. Then we had a roast duck and I don't know what else.

I love root vegetables: carrots, parsnips, and turnips.

To be a good cook you have to have a love of the good, a love of hard work, and a love of creating.

I'd like for people to be able to go to the universities and get a degree in fine arts-gastronomy.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.